Freelance
TC Varsity
CHRISTOPHER VECK
sports@tucsoncitizen.com
Nothing was scarier for Sahuarita High School than the two-headed rushing attack of Amphi.
Chris Johnson ran for 249 yards and two touchdowns, and Damian Henry added 155 yards and a score as the Panthers beat the host Mustangs 42-28 on Friday night.
Amphi coach Vern Friedli tied Karl Kiefer for second on the state’s career victory list at 308. Friedli can tie Gilbert’s Jesse Parker (309) for first with a win over Douglas next week. Gilbert lost Friday and is off next week.
“I feel good,” Friedli said as Amphi improved to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in 4A Gila Region play. “What am I supposed to say?”
Amphi rushed for a total of 420 yards on 49 carries and only threw the ball four times.
“We have a great line and we have great backs,” Johnson said. “We came out full speed running to win.”
Added Johnson, who had 21 carries: “No disrespect, it feels like Madden (the video game) when you just can’t be stopped.”
Not to be outdone, Amphi quarterback Zach Roth added a score on the ground and passed for two TDs.
Friedli said the team ran the same plays repeatedly in the first half with Johnson and Henry.
“It’s a lot of fun, when we have them,” Friedli said about the duo.
Amphi’s defense held Sahuarita to 233 total yards. The Panthers stopped Sahuarita (5-4, 2-3) on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter on a sack, and then ran out the clock.
Allonte Singfield, the Mustangs’ star back, ran for 95 yards and a score and returned a kickoff 83 yards for a TD.
Sahuarita quarterback Kody Day added a score on the ground and a second through the air.
The teams combined for only 86 yards through the air.