Rams grab late win over Casa Grande, 21-14

Two plays and 15 seconds were all it took to turn a potential Maricopa High School football loss into the Rams’ second straight win, a 21-14 victory at Casa Grande last night.

Trailing 14-13, the MHS defense made a huge fourth down stop as CHS quarterback Anthony Mitchell was halted on a fourth-and-one situation at the Maricopa (2-6, 1-3) ten yard line with only 4:49 to play.

Just 15 seconds later, on the first play from scrimmage, MHS star running back Randel Barber broke free up the middle and outran the Cougar defense for a 90-yard touchdown, which combined with Barber’s two-point conversion, give the Rams a 21-14 lead.

But the drama didn’t end there. Casa Grande returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 43-yard line. With the help of two controversial pass interference penalties, one on a fourth-and-16 play, the Cougars drove to the MHS 29. There, the Ram defense held again, forcing Casa Grande (2-6, 0-4) to turn the ball over on downs with 1:29 remaining.

“The defense made two great plays on fourth downs,” said Rams’ head coach Cory Nenaber. “To step up and make the play there at the end is huge, and the Randel breaking that one was just gigantic. He really willed himself into the end zone, he was pretty gassed,” Nenaber added. Barber plays virtually every down of every game.”

The Rams might have made it easier on themselves but missed two golden opportunities in the first quarter. First, Barber fumbled at the goal line after MHS had taken the opening kickoff deep into Cougar territory. Then, on the next series, after Rico Johnson returned a punt to the CHS 18, Maricopa was stopped on fourth-and two at the 10.

The Rams finally took the lead with just 54 seconds left in the half, going 64-yards in seven plays including a 23-yard burst by Zach Jones and two 13-yard gains by Barber, with Barber taking it in from the one. Franshua Avila’s extra point put Maricopa ahead, 7-0.

But the Cougars answered with a trick play as the half ended, with Mitchell taking a lateral from Nick Elliott and tossing a 24-yard strike to Sherice Loggins in the end zone as time expired. Taylor Walton’s PAT knotted the score at 7-7 at the break.

Casa Grande capitalized on a short Maricopa punt late in the third quarter, taking over at the MHS 28 and scoring three plays later as Jack Miller rambled 17-yards for a TD at the 1:42 mark. That gave it a 14-7 lead.

Maricopa answered immediately, going 61 yards in six plays with Barber taking it the final six. Avila’s PAT, however, missed, keeping the Rams behind, 14-13.

“To be down in the fourth quarter and respond is a huge thing four our kids,” Nenaber said.
That’s two program sweeps in a row,” he said. The Maricopa freshmen and JV also defeated Casa Grande this week, as they did Scottsdale Coronado a week ago.

“You can say a lot about how tough our schedule was early,” he added. “ That’s what prepared us for this type of game.”

Barber finished with 249 yards in a match up of top running backs. The Cougars’ James Colbert entered the contest with 995 yards in just six games, but gained only 29 against MHS. Barber had 624 in his first six games. For Maricopa, Jones also gained 39, while Miller had 59 and Ryder McIntyre 43 for Casa Grande.

Maricopa faces a tough road test next week when it visits 5-2 Coolidge Friday night.