Citizen Staff Writer
TC VARSITY
CHRISTOPHER VECK
sports@tucsoncitizen.com
CANYON DEL ORO 40 MARANA 14
Football games aren’t won in the first quarter, as Canyon del Oro and Marana high schools showed Friday night.
CDO fell behind 14-12 after the first 12 minutes, but it scored the final 28 points to top visiting Marana 40-14 in a Class 4A Sonoran Region game.
CDO’s Griffin Ronstadt ran for 240 yards and scored three times, including a 54-yard jaunt.
“This week we talked about attitude and coming out and running the no-huddle, just to add a little bit more aggressiveness,” CDO coach Pat Nugent said.
“We got (Ronstadt) the ball tonight, and he has been a superstar for us for three years. He’s taken a back seat to Ka’Deem Carey, but he showed how great a football player he really is.”
CDO (7-1, 2-0) led 19-14 at halftime before erupting for 21 points in the third quarter.
“I told them to relax (at halftime) and stop stressing out trying to beat people and just go play good football,” Nugent said.
CDO quarterback Doug Steele was a part of all three touchdowns in the third quarter – two through the air and one on the ground.
He finished 167 passing yards on 10-of-13 passing.
“When we’re clicking like that everyone’s happy,” Steele said, “After halftime we came out pumped and dominated, pretty much.”
CDO’s secondary was torched on consecutive series in the first quarter, giving up a long play-action pass that led to a 1-yard scoring run by Joey McKinnon, and a 71-yard touchdown pass from Santiago Miranda to Kane Punt.
Canyon del Oro gained 456 total yards, almost doubling Marana’s 236.
CDO visits Cholla next week, while the Tigers (3-5, 1-1) host Catalina Foothills.