Piñon stays unbeaten, eyeing playoff bid

PINON, Ariz. – The Piñon football team kept its postseason aspirations alive.

The Eagles remain unbeaten as Piñon used its running game to clip Red Mesa, 28-14, in last Thursday’s 2A Little Colorado Region football game.

The 14-point win keeps the Eagles in the hunt for a region title and a possible 2A playoff bid.

“That’s our goal,” second-year Piñon coach Steve Saban said. “We’ve aimed high this year. We want to be 10-0 and be the region champs. We’re 6-0 right now and we have a few more (games) left.

“We can go no worse than 6-4, so I’m proud of these guys,” he added. “We’ve solidified a winning record with this game and the kids have made it fun for me, so I can’t say enough about them.”

The Eagles gained 277 yards on the ground on 55 carries with senior Silas Kaye running rampant. The second year running back rushed for 164 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.

“He barely came out for football last year,” Saban said. “When he first started, he was probably 100 pounds even when wet. He’s probably 128 (pounds), but his bench press is like 205. He’s like an ant, strong as heck. He worked really hard to make himself strong.

“He’s a tough kid,” Saban added. “His results speak for himself. He’s in the top three in the state in rushing.”

Kaye went 62 yards on Piñon’s opening possession, and after the two-point conversion the Eagles led 8-0 with 11:34 left in the opening quarter.

The Saban-coached team added its second TD with five minutes left before the half with junior Manuel Lee scoring on a 11-yard rush. The Eagles went 67 yards on 13 plays, which included a pair of 15-yard penalties by Red Mesa to keep their drive alive.

In total, the visiting team was whistled 11 times for 106 yards.

First-year Red Mesa coach Nelson Mitchell acknowledged the penalties did hurt his team, but he felt that his team got off to a slow start.

“Our offense was a lot better in the second half,” Mitchell said. “We made some adjustments on the front line and we asked the guys what can we do to make things better.”

With a short field, Red Mesa got on the scoreboard at the 5:10 mark in the third when they completed a 32-yard drive that took four plays.

Senior quarterback Adam Wheeler connected with junior tight end Jonah Herbert for a 24-yard TD strike. The two players then hooked up for the two-point conversion that cut Piñon’s lead down to 14-8

“He made a few catches,” Mitchell said of his receiver Herbert. “After we adjusted our offense, Jonah really stepped up for us on offense.”

After Red Mesa’s TD score, Piñon went back to work and drove 68 yards on 16 plays that included a fourth down conversion from junior running back Harrison Crosby.

On a fourth-and-1, Crosby move the ball seven yards that set them up at Red Mesa’s 20-yard line. Six plays later, senior Bastian Crosby ran in the final yard for a TD.

The Eagles tacked on the two-point conversion for a 22-8 cushion with 10:29 left in the fourth.

Red Mesa was forced to punt on its next possession allowing Piñon to add an insurance score with Kaye scoring from one-yard out to complete a 60-yard drive for a 28-8 lead with just over seven minutes left in the game.

On that drive, Kaye had runs of 14 and 10 yards, much to the dismay of the faithful Red Mesa fans.

“We knew that was coming and we prepared for it,” Mitchell said of the scouting report on the Piñon running back. “We didn’t stop it like we should have, and we know better. We prepared for it, but we slacked in that area in stopping him.”

Red Mesa made it a two-possession game when senior Trestin Descheenie scored from the one-yard line with 4:44 to go.

Piñon then took some time off the clock and Red Mesa was unable to draw any closer.

“It was a hard-fought game and my guys played their hearts out,” Mitchell said. “They never put their heads down and they played 100 percent until the very end.”

With the 14-point loss, Red Mesa dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in region play. Despite its setback, Mitchell still has high hopes of finishing the season with a winning record as they host Tuba City on Friday night.

Next week, Red Mesa will host Holbrook before closing out their region play at Hopi on Oct. 20 and at Many Farms Oct. 27.

“I still have confidence in my guys,” Mitchell said. “Like I told my guys, I’m not done. I hope they’re not done so we have a fighting chance.”

Piñon travels to Valley Sanders on Friday before they host Greyhills Academy next week. The Eagles will finish out the regular season at Holbrook on Oct. 20 before hosting Hopi Oct. 27.

“We got some work cut out for us,” Saban said of the remaining schedule. “We got to heal up and, you know, Red Mesa played physical with us. They have some big kids on that team, but we pulled it out with the kids finding a way to win.”

When asked about the 6-0 start, Saban said it’s a testament to what the kids did over the summer as this year’s group finished the season at 3-6 overall last season.

“We’ve got the same group and they just worked their butts off during the offseason,” he said. “They wanted to make a change here. You know, we’ve been on the bottom of the barrel for a long time.

“Football hasn’t been big here, but the kids bought in, and they worked very hard,” Saban added. “So far, we’ve got favorable results and that’s a testament to the kids.”

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