Scorpions get comeback victory1 min read

The Homecoming football game is often planned as an easy win, a relaxed contest designed not to interfere with a school’s festivities.

Somebody apparently forgot to send Kingman Academy that email.

Sedona Red Rock High School junior Max Hauserman threw a 10-yard pass — his very first of the game after coming in for injured starting quarterback Derrick Johnson — to junior Brian Nguyen, then kicked the winning extra point with just over a minute left in the game to lift the Scorpions [5-1] to a 30-29 comeback Homecoming win over the Tigers [2-4] on Friday, Oct. 4.

With less than six minutes to play in the third quarter, it appeared the game was going to be that easy after a 21-yard Hauserman field goal made the score 23-7. Sophomore Justice Keane had scored the Scorpions’ first two touchdowns off a 10-yard pass from sophomore Derrick Johnson and a 15-yard touchdown run, capped by his two-point conversion run into the end zone.

The rout appeared to be on after Johnson tore off a 90-yard touchdown run 11/2 minutes before halftime.

But by the end of the third quarter, both Johnson and Keane would limp to the sideline with injuries, not to return. Junior starting running back Andre Davis was already sidelined for the game with an injured shoulder.

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And with that attrition, senior quarterback Austin Tomlinson and Kingman Academy caught fire. Senior running backs Westin McCord and Cody Tuepker ran for scores, with Tuepker kicking two extra points and McCord capping the comeback with a two-point conversion run after Tomlinson called his own number from three yards out to put Kingman Academy in the lead, 29-23.

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Oct. 9, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.