After being on the wrong end of lopsided final scores in each of its first two contests, the Sedona Red Rock High School football team turned the tables in the season’s third game.
The Scorpions got off to a strong start, scoring in the opening minutes. SRRHS continued that onslaught through the first two quarters and opened up a 46-0 lead at halftime. From there, the Scorpions went on cruise control and sailed to a 52-6 victory.
“We played a lot better,” coach Bob Young said. “We got a little confidence going. That’s the thing when you’re a struggling program. It’s hard to get that. But we got a couple of things going. We got our confidence up and the guys were just feeding off of that.”
The Scorpions got some big performances from their top players. Jackson Coughlin only touched the ball six times on offense, but made the most of those touches. He ran four times for 87 yards with two touchdowns. Coughlin also caught two passes for 70 yards and had a 70-yard punt return. After suffering an injury in Week 1, quarterback Christian Welch was limited in Week 2. On Friday, though, he was much more aggressive. While SRRHS needed only three passes from its starting signal caller, Welch completed all of them and totaled more than 100 yards in the air.
Defensively, Xavier Stimple was among the standouts and was in on 15 tackles. He also added a 70-yard kickoff return. Safety Matt LeBlanc also had a nose for the ball, recording nine tackles, two of which were sacks. Young also lauded the performance of Spencer Anthony at defensive end.
“I’m proud of the guys coming out and playing hard,” Young said. “We just made some improvements across the board.”
Despite the lopsided win, Young found some things that the team needs to work on. He noted that the blocking and tackling weren’t nearly as sharp after halftime. A pleasant surprise to the coach was the crowd. As Rock Point is part of the Navajo Nation, they observe Daylight Savings and are presently in Mountain Daylight Time. To accommodate the body clocks of the Cougars — who were already making a six-hour trip — the Scorpions moved the start to 6 p.m., up an hour from the normal 7 p.m. kickoff. Young feared that the early start time might have made it more of a challenge for fans to support SRRHS. As it turned out, that was not a problem.
“It was a good community turnout. With the early 6 p.m. start, I was worried that we may not get a lot of people. But we had a good turnout.”
With the win, the Scorpions improved their record to 1-2. Next up is a two-game road trip. On Friday, Sept. 20, they’ll go on the road to take on Glendale Prep, which sits at 1-3 and is coming off of a 27-6 loss to Veritas Prep. SRRHS will return to the Verde Valley the following week, Friday, Sept. 27, but will be on the road against Camp Verde.
The Scorpions next home game will be Friday, Oct. 4 against Scottsdale Prep. That game, along with the remainder of Sedona Red Rock’s contests, both home and road, will start at 7 p.m.
Michael Dixon can be reached at 282-7795 ext 131 or email to mdixon@larsonnewspapers.com
