Young guns

Red Mesa football team goes deep into their bench in win

TEEC NOS POS, Ariz.

Should the varsity squad take some big hits this season, the Red Mesa High School football team can rest easy knowing the young players have their backs.

In a section home game with Rough Rock High School (0-4) on Sept. 17, Red Mesa (3-1) played their varsity team for one quarter before letting their junior varsity squad take over for the 64-0 victory over the Sun Devils.

Red Mesa head coach Pita Olomua said the three quarters played by the JV team demonstrated the team’s strength when it comes to their young players.

“It’s promising for our JV,” he said. “I let the JV guys suit up and get that experience for the long haul, in the future – it’s a positive.”

Red Mesa made two touchdowns four minutes into the first quarter to lead 14-0 with 7:51 left on the clock. By the end of the first they led, 36-0.

The junior varsity squad completed two more touchdowns and one two-point conversion to lead 50-0 at halftime.

Olomua said he was not surprised with how smooth his offense performed and was more concerned with the defense as it has been the focus area for improvement.

“We have a young team. All my lineman is brand new lineman,” he said. “It’s a rebuilding year for lineman but we have the running backs.”

At times, Red Mesa’s defense had trouble stopping the ball when it was in Rough Rock’s possession.

Rough Rock first-year head coach Roger Andreason said most of his team is very new to the sport and they are still learning all the elements of the game, so he was happy with any improvement on the field.

“I’m working with a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” he said. “I’m learning from them as I’m coaching them to do the best that they can to show the best of their ability, to play the game of football.”

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