Gridiron Five: Youngker defense leads the way in road upset

The stage was set in the far Southwest Valley in Goodyear for the start of West Valley Region play between Estrella Foothills and visiting Youngker.  The host Wolves came in leading the 4A Conference in scoring with 215 points (43 points/game) and were a perfect 5-0 (#8 in 4A).  The Roughriders weren’t just riding a three-game win streak, they had a three-game shutout streak.

In the end, defense ruled the night.

Youngker (4-1 #23 in 4A) forced four turnovers (one in each quarter) and limited the potent EFHS offense all game.  While the shutout streak did end as the Roughriders allowed their first touchdown since August, it was perhaps the most satisfying victory of the year as Youngker prevailed 23-9 on Friday night.

“It was come out and fight,” Youngker Head Coach Alonzo Highsmith Jr. said of the team’s defensive plan for the night.  “That’s all we wanted to do.  We wanted it to be a 48-minute game.”

5 players that stood out

Youngker QB Jonas Phillips

Just two weeks ago, Phillips was playing wide receiver and scoring a touchdown against Moon Valley.  But an injury to the starting quarterback forced Phillips to be next man up.  Making his first start of the season behind center for the Roughriders, he didn’t allow any turnovers, threw a pair of touchdown passes and showed from the start that he can be a dual threat.  On Youngker’s second possession, he had 51 yards on the ground before tossing the first of his scoring throws to Larry Moore Jr.  The 6-foot, 190-pound senior also scored one himself on a 1-yard sneak.

Youngker WR Larry Moore Jr.

The senior receiver scored a pair of touchdowns.  He finished with seven catches for 94 yards.  A total of 40 of those yards came on a single play in the third quarter.  Moore caught a pass on the left sideline, eluded a tackle and then had clear field in front of him all the way to the end zone.  He also had a big punt return in the fourth quarter (37 yards) allowing the Roughriders to put the game away.  Moore was a First Team All-Region performer last season and is on his way to repeating that feat.

Youngker DB Anthony Santiesteban Miranda

The senior defensive back (pictured at the top of the article) had a pair of interceptions.  He’s versatile and can also play offense.  Both of his picks came in the second half and the Youngker offense turned those into 10 points.

Youngker LB Jamel Wayeh

Wayeh, a wide receiver turned linebacker, had a dozen tackles (two for a loss) and recovered a pair of fumbles for the Roughriders.  He just came to YHS this year by way of Paetow High School in Texas.  Wayeh has the size at 6-2, 205 that you don’t commonly see at the 4A level and started this season playing as an edge rusher, so he’s certainly versatile.

Estrella Foothills RB Alius Fernandez

At 5-9 and 210 pounds, Fernandez can be tough to bring down.  He had three carries of 10 or more yards to move the chains.  This was the third game for the junior, who was an in-season transfer from Canyon View last year.  Fernandez was the Wolves’ leading rusher and also made a 37-yard reception in the first quarter.  For the season, he’s averaging almost 9 yards per carry.  The Wolves’ coaches weren’t afraid to give it to him on a fourth-and-three from their own 26-yard line in the third quarter.  Fernandez picked up the first down with a four-yard carry to extend the drive.  He’s also more than capable as a blocker.

5 (non-scoring) plays that made a difference

• Leading 2-0, Estrella Foothills was threatening to make it a two-score game on its initial possession.  The Wolves drove to the Youngker 11-yard line, but fumbled.  It was recovered by Jamel Wayeh.  EFHS never led by more than three the rest of the night.
• Leading 6-2 in the second quarter, Youngker went for it on a fourth-and-goal at the 19-yard line.  Cori Iriarte came through with the sack for the Wolves to end the drive.
• Trailing 9-6 in the third quarter, Youngker faced a fourth-and-three at the EFHS 18-yard line.  Estrella Foothills brought pressure and forced an incompletion.  It was the third time the Roughriders got inside the red zone and were stopped on downs.
• Trailing 13-9 early in the fourth quarter, Estrella Foothills had a third-and-long at its own 4-yard line.  The play was a screen pass which resulted in a two-yard loss.  That forced the Wolves to punt from their own end zone and Larry Moore Jr. returned it to the 1-yard line.  The reason EFHS was backed up to begin with was a blocking penalty on the kickoff (started at 5-yard line).
• Trailing 20-9 and needing to score to stay in the game, Estrella Foothills threw an interception deep in its own end.  The turnover gave Youngker the ball at the EFHS 14-yard line and they were ultimately able to add on a field goal.

5 key stats

• The most glaring was the turnovers: 4 for Estrella Foothills and 0 for Youngker.
• Estrella Foothills had a lot of long fields.  Each of its last 10 drives (of 11 in the game) started at its own 30 or worse (average starting position – own 19).
• Youngker held Estrella Foothills to just 66 yards of offense in the second half.
• According to MaxPreps, Estrella Foothills only had to punt a total of four times in its first five games.  On Friday, the Wolves punted five times.
• The referees had pink penalty flags to recognize October’s breast cancer month.  There were plenty of reminders as there were a total of 23 penalties assessed for 209 yards.

Roughriders 23, Wolves 9

YHS. . . . . 6  0  7  10 – 23
EFHS. . . . 2  7  0   0  –  9 

First Quarter

EF: Safety.  Running back tackled in end zone, 11:23, 0-2
YKR: Larry Moore Jr. 8 yard pass from Jonas Phillips (kick failed), 6:10, 6-2

Second Quarter

EF: Shawn Ellison 3 yard pass from Mickey Raftery (Gavin Knebel kick), 0:24, 6-9

Third Quarter

YKR: Moore 40 yard pass from Phillips (Jair Briseno kick), 0:52, 13-9

Fourth Quarter

YKR: Phillips 1 yard run (Briseno kick), 10:46, 20-9
YKR: Briseno 25 yard FG, 3:51, 23-9

Team Statistics

First Downs – YKR: 12, EF: 11.  Rushes-Yards – YKR: 32-140, EF: 26-120.  Comp-Att-Int – YKR: 13-31-0, EF: 11-27-2.  Passing Yards – YKR: 188, EF: 102.  Total Yards – YKR: 328, EF: 222.  Fumbles Lost – YKR: 0, EF: 2.  Penalties-Yards – YKR: 12-111, EF: 11-98.

Individual Leaders

Passing – YKR: Phillips 13-31-0, EF: Raftery 11-26-2.
Rushing – YKR: Phillips 18-95, Calvin 7-27, EF: Fernandez 11-50, Raftery 6-29.
Receiving – YKR: Moore 7-94, Eeds 2-44, EF: Fernandez 2-35, Gastineau 1-20, Knebel 1-20.

5 people I talked to after the game

Youngker WR Larry Moore Jr. on his touchdown catches: “We watched a lot of film this week.  We knew it was going to be open.  We just took our chances and we executed.”

Estrella Foothills Head Coach Michael Spencer: “We stopped ourselves a little bit.  Three handoff exchanges we put the ball on the ground and they jumped on two of them.  We shot ourselves in the foot.  They’re tough, fast, and aggressive, but we didn’t do ourselves any favors.”

Youngker LB Jamel Wayeh on what makes it difficult to score on the Roughriders’ defense: “Our work ethic.  Getting all 11 to the ball.  Staying committed and making sure each person does their 1-of-11.”

Youngker Head Coach Alonzo Highsmith Jr. on the team’s defensive philosophy: “Get after them.  Coach (Richard) Richardson (the defensive coordinator) will heat them up.  Our guys love it when he heats them up.”

Youngker DE/RB Robert Calvin on the play of the defense this season: “We work hard at practice.  We try to minimize the mistakes and learn how to do everything perfect.  No team is perfect, but that’s what we try to do.”

Next week

Youngker (4-1 overall, 1-0 West Valley Region) will be on the road at Buckeye Union (4-2, 1-0).  The Hawks defeated Lake Havasu, 33-26, on Thursday night.  Highsmith Jr. called BUHS a tough opponent as it is a rivalry game with both schools in the city of Buckeye and many of the players know one another.  Buckeye (#20 in the 4A rankings) will come into next Friday’s game on a three-game win streak.  Youngker is in its 18th season of varsity football and has never had a season with more than seven wins.  That is certainly on the table, although, the Roughriders will only play nine regular season games as Mingus cancelled on them back in Week 3.

Estrella Foothills (5-1) will try to get back on track with a non-region game against Cibola (4-2) next Friday.  The Raiders will make the long trip over from Yuma and it will be the Wolves’ last home contest of the regular season.  EFHS finishes with three on the road, including the finale at Buckeye Union.  Cibola is coming off a 46-7 loss at Palo Verde Valley (in Blythe, CA) on Friday.  The Raiders are 3-0 against Arizona competition this season, although those opponents have a combined 5-13 record.  CHS is ranked at #28 in the 4A rankings.