Rams take the ‘mini bus’ en route to win over Bourgade Catholic

Maricopa High’s football team raised its record to 2-1 with an exciting 45-40 victory over visiting Bourgade Catholic Friday evening.

A heavy dose of running back Matt “mini bus” Fierros was too much for the visiting Golden Eagles, with the senior rushing for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. Maricopa went into halftime with a 20-12 lead.

The explosive running back was just getting warmed up for the second half, as he picked up 192 more rushing yards, finding the end zone on three more occasions. Fierros found the end zone five times on the night and finished the game with 279 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Fierros’ most impressive run of the night was with 1:38 remaining in the game. Fierros took the hand off from Rams quarterback Will Clemans, cut up the right side of the field, and dashed 90 yards for the touchdown. Junior running back Blake Schwanbeck had three carries for 60 yards in the first half. Clemans rushed for 40 yards and found the end zone on the quarterback keeper from two yards out.

The Rams’ running attack of Fierros, Clemans and Schwanbeck picked up 379 rushing yards on the night. Rams kickoff return man Tony Jones returned the second half opening kickoff 88 yards for the touchdown, giving the Rams a 26-12 lead. Jones fielded three returns for 173 total yards.

Bourgade Catholic’s offense was led by do-it-all senior Justin Magdelano and junior running back Joe Alcocer. Magdelano kicked three field goals, along with finding the end zone with a run up the gut late in the second half. Alcocer started the game strong, but didn’t find the end zone until the middle of the third quarter.

The Rams’ defense held the Golden Eagles to 12 points in the first half, but struggled in the second half, giving up large chunks of yardage and 28 points. Maricopa’s defense forced and recovered four fumbles on the night. Fumble recoveries were made by Vince Davis, Eric Chavez, Sebastian Ugarte, and Schwanbeck.

Although Fierros was happy with his offensive output, he noted, “I’m disappointed in how we played defensively; it’s a bitter sweet win. It’s great that we won, but we shouldn’t have given up 40 points to Bourgade.”

Fierros now has 570 rushing yards in three games this season. Before this game, he was ranked third in 3A rushing. This most recent performance should move him into second place behind Patrick Cann of Santa Cruz. After Cann’s 250-yard peformance vs. Wickenburg last night, he is sitting at 641 rushing yards in three games.

The Rams will get the chance to see Cann up close and personal when Santa Cruz comes to Maricopa on Friday, Oct. 12.

While Maricopa head coach Tyler Brandt was happy with the win, he saw room for improvement. “We have to be better than this on Friday nights,” Brandt added.

Maricopa visits Coolidge High on Friday evening.

Photo by Mandy Hank

Maricopa Rams 2007 Football Schedule:
8/24/2007 Estrella Foothills (Won 20-13)
8/31/2007 @ Wickenburg (Lost 24-6)
9/7/2007 Bourgade (Won 45-40)
9/14/2007 @ Coolidge
9/21/2007 Empire
9/28/2007 Fountain Hills
10/5/2007 @ Safford
10/12/2007 Santa Cruz
10/19/2007 Florence
10/26/2007 @ Globe