Rams’ late bid falls short in 41-40 loss at Coolidge

A gamble on a two-point conversion in the closing seconds failed for Maricopa as the Rams fell on the road to Coolidge, 41-40, last night.

After Randel Barber scored from two yards out with 36.4 seconds to play, bringing MHS to within a single point, Maricopa head coach Cory Nenaber decided to give his squad the chance to win in regulation time.  But quarterback Dallas Speer appeared to have trouble with the center exchange and never gained control as he attempted to hand off to Barber on the two-point try. The attempt fell short, and Maricopa’s ensuing onside kick attempt did not go 10 yards, sealing the Rams’ fate.

“I’d go for it again every single time,” Nenaber said. “We only stopped them one time in the second half. We have a whole bunch of kids on defense that are banged up. You have the momentum, you go down and score and we were going to try to win the game.”

The Rams (2-7) appeared headed for their third straight win during the first half, building as much as a 27-7 lead, but seemingly tired in the second half.

A dual between outstanding running backs Barber and Seth Ellis of Coolidge, turned out to be as advertised. Barber seemed to own the first half, scoring three touchdowns and gaining 125 of his 193 total yards in the game. He surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau for the season and scored a total of five TDs in the game. Ellis, however, finished with 275 yards with a big second half and accounted for all six of the Bears’ touchdowns.

CHS (6-3) took the ball 64 yards on its first possession to grab a 7-0 lead, but MHS retaliated with a 60-yard march of its own, with Barber taking it in from 13 yards out. The extra point was missed, keeping Coolidge on top, 7-6.

At this point Maricopa took advantage of two big plays and surged to a 21-7 lead. First, the Rams recovered a CHS fumble at the Bears’ 32. Zach Jones took the next play straight up the middle for a touchdown. Maricopa then executed an onside kick and went 31 yards for another score with Barber taking it in from five yards out.

A big fourth down stop by the Rams’ defense at its own 16-yard line keyed an 86-yard march, highlighted by Speers’ 38-yard completion to Rico Johnson. Barber got the TD from one yard away, seeming to point MHS in the direction of its third straight win with a 27-7 lead.

But a 24-yard run by Ellis cut the margin to 27-13 at halftime after the PAT failed.

***ADVERTISEMENT***Another fourth down stop by Maricopa on Collidge’s first possession of the second half seemed to keep the momentum in the Rams’ favor. The defense held at its own 10-yard line. MHS then went 90-yards, including a 39-yard pass from Speer to Cody Keith. Barber’s three-yard TD made it 34-13.

Coolidge, however, found the end zone the next four times it had the ball, building a 41-34 lead with 3:44 to play.

The Rams didn’t give up. They took the ball 61-yards with Barber cutting the deficit to one point on a two-yard score, but the two-point conversion failed.

Along with Barber’s yardage, Jones gained 43 yards on five tries. Speer was 6-10 passing for a total of 108 yards.

The Rams complete their season next Friday at Tempe.