Rough Rock outmanned at Chinle homecoming
By Cindy Yurth
Tseyi' Bureau
CHINLE, Oct. 24, 2011
(Times photo - Paul Natonabah)
Rough Rock Sundevils quarterback Shenandoah Revello (14) tries to rush through the Wildcats defense during homecoming game Oct. 14 in Chinle. The Sundevils, lost 58-0.
"It wasn't pretty," summed up Sun Devils coach Kent Tomah.
Chinle barged out of the gate with a touchdown in the first 30 seconds, and it was all downhill for Rough Rock from there, with a final score of 58-0.
To the Sun Devils' credit, they never gave up. The score could have been even more dismal without Kevin Chacon and Dustin Yazzie sprinting across the field to make some quick tackles and interrupting what might have been impressive touchdown runs by Chinle's Rain Brady and Austin Begay.
Sun Devils quarterback Shenandoah Revello made a number of swift, short rushes, unfortunately always ending up under a pile of Wildcats.
"We threw Shenandoah to the wolves," Tomah admitted, adding that his usual quarterback was away attending a ceremony.
Chinle had a new quarterback too: former star running back Stewart Yazzie.
"Almost at the end of the season, I finally found my quarterback," declared Wildcat head coach Tim Su'e Su'e Liufau, adding that Yazzie is Chinle's third quarterback this season.
Yazzie also learned how to kick somewhere along the line, making four out of six attempted field goals.
When he failed his first attempt, after rushing 39 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, the announcer quipped, "At least we know one thing he can't do."
But he was forced to eat his words as Yazzie became more accurate with every kick.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there's nothing this young man can't do," the announcer said later.
The Sun Devils gained some yardage in the first quarter, but seemed to get flagged for illegal plays every time they got the ball.
With the score 20-0, the Wildcats fumbled and the Sun Devils finally got the ball and a wide-open path ... just as the buzzer went off.
After an early touchdown for Chinle, the second quarter seemed to be a tad more hopeful for the Sun Devils. Number 40 fell on a fumbled ball and it looked like the Sun Devils were finally going to have a good field position when he was tackled by Nikela Simeona.
Chinle's Austin Begay got the ball and was in turn tackled by Dustin Yazzie with half a yard to go. Chinle eventually got a first down, and Begay rushed into the end zone, but was immediately flagged for holding and illegal use of hands.
("Those refs are flag-happy," muttered Su'e Su'e later.)
The 10-yard penalty did not do much to discourage Begay, who went ahead and made a second touchdown, followed by a field goal by Stewart Yazzie.
Rough Rock took possession at the 26-yard line and gained three yards, then lost five or six after Revello mishandled the ball on the third down with 12 yards to go. Two Chinle players blocked a kick from Revello, and the score sat at 37-0.
Then Stewart Yazzie caught the kickoff, passing it to Begay, who ran 57 yards for his third (legal) touchdown of the game. Yazzie kicked in another point, bringing the score to 44-0.
Chinle kicked off and the Sun Devils took possession, but with seven yards to go on the third down, Yazzie intercepted a pass and ran 45 yards before being flagged for illegal use of hands.
On the second down with eight yards to go, Nevin Tso took it all the way for another touchdown, 50-0, followed by a successful 35-yard kick by Yazzie for the extra point, with just over a minute left in the half.
The third quarter started with Chacon gaining a few yards for Rough Rock, but on the next play Revello's pass was cleanly intercepted by Yazzie. He didn't get very far before being tackled by Chacon, but the Wildcats recovered and on the second down, with one yard left to go, Rain Brady was flagged for a personal foul.
On the next play, however, he added another touchdown and PAT for Chinle, bringing the score to 58-0, which would remain the final score for the night.
The kickoff to the Sun Devils and a good run left the Devils in their best field position of the game at the 42-yard line, but Revello had nowhere to go and was tackled by Randy White.
At the top of the fourth quarter, Su'e Su'e evened things out a bit, pulling his starters and putting in some rookies. They nonetheless took turns sacking poor Revello in between a series of short but quick sprints by Chinle's Dylan Ayze, who chipped away at the end zone but was never able to score.
Tomah didn't seem too disappointed in the game.
"The kids did the best they could," he shrugged. "You have to remember Chinle has 1,300 kids to pick from. We have 151."
Tomah also remarked on the size of Chinle's defensive line.
"I don't know where they got those kids," he said. "Some of them were bigger than me, and I'm six-and-a-half (feet tall). They rolled right over my boys."
Su'e Su'e also praised his defensive line - Zachery Chee, Gabe Nez, Randy White, Tyler Benally and Jereson Francis.
"Those positions don't get a lot of credit, but there's no way we could execute the plays we do without them," he said.
Chinle's next game, tomorrow against Holbrook, will determine whether they go on to the state tournament. With a record of 5-3, they are presently ranked 12th in the state.
Either way that game goes, Su'e Su'e will consider it a successful season.
"We have some great kids, great parental support, and the best assistant coaches in the state," he said. "Our athletic director (Steve Troglia) and principal (Doug Clauschee) are also tremendously supportive. I feel lucky to be working in this environment."
The Sun Devils, as Tomah observed, "do fine when we play schools our own size."
With a record of 2-6, they pummeled Sanders Valley and Many Farms, and even held their own in a close loss against Tuba City (8-6). They are looking forward to meeting Red Mesa Friday.