It is only the third game of 2022, but the Yuma Football Team already faces a key moment tonight on its home field.
“It would be such a good win for us because then we would have a head-to-head win against a (potential) league champion,” head coach Kelly Seward said.
On a night when the NFL kicks off its season, the YFT has its second Thursday night home game when it hosts the Banning Lewis Academy Stallions at 7 p.m. All of Yuma’s remaining regular-season games will be on Friday nights.
The game also is the second of four home appearances in the season’s first five weeks, so the former Tribe needs to protect its home field before hitting the road for three its final four games, all North Central Conference battles.
Both teams enter tonight’s squirmish a perfect 2-0. Yuma stayed undefeated with a solid 28-14 win at Burns, Wyoming, last Friday night. Banning Lewis, out of Colorado Springs, has won its first two games by a combined 90 points. Banning Lewis went 5-4 last year, like Yuma, but missed the playoffs while Yuma advanced to the quarterfinals.
While it is a short week for both teams, it is even shorter for Banning Lewis, whose blowout win over Jefferson came on Saturday night. Plus, the Stallions have to make the long trip to Yuma today.
Tonight’s game could go a long way toward determining playoff seeding. Banning Lewis was No. 8 in the Class 1A Rating Percentage Index, and Yuma No. 9, as of this past Monday. Yuma remained No. 8 in the 1A Top 10 this week, while Banning Lewis has not cracked the Top 10 poll.
“They’re a good football team,” Seward said of the Stallions. “I think they just get overlooked because of the league they’re in. I do believe they will win their league.”
Yuma’s coach said Banning Lewis is similar to the YFT in that it features a run-heavy offense. He said the Stallions run the double-wing, single-wing and the wing-T.
“It’s our type of ball game,” Seward said.
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