Citizen Staff Writer
TC VARSITY
PALO VERDE 61
RIO RICO 7
JENNY MAYER
sports@tucsoncitizen.com
Palo Verde High School senior Adam Hall didn’t take long to impress USC recruiters, scoring four touchdowns in the first quarter Friday.
He scored on runs of 23, 5 and 3 yards and returned an interception 34 yards for a TD as the host Titans routed Rio Rico 61-7 in a 4A-II Gila Region game.
Hall added an 80-yard kickoff return in the third quarter to finish with five touchdowns.
After Hall’s first score, Shaudy Alverez ran back the kickoff 96 yards to tie the game at 7. But Palo Verde (4-1) took off after that, holding Rio Rico (0-5) to 64 total yards. “The kids came out and they had a team effort,” Palo Verde coach Todd Mayfield said. “Everybody worked hard.”
USC recruiters were on hand after the No. 1-ranked Trojans fell to Oregon State the night before. Arizona, California and a host of other schools are interested in Hall, who stopped playing running back after the first quarter and only went in for Palo Verde’s kickoff returns.
“The opportunity was there and I took advantage of it,” Hall said of his five TDs.
The Titans gained 275 yards – 256 on the ground. Junior Talil Gordon had a 86-yard fumble return TD in the fourth quarter.
“We just wanted to come out and let everyone play,” Hall said.
“He was a leader on the sideline tonight, I really appreciated that,” Mayfield said of Hall.