The Yuma Football Team is seeking another 3-0 start at its heads to Colorado Springs on Friday.
It will be a battle of unbeatens as Yuma visits Banning Lewis Academy. Both teams are 2-0 early in 2023, with Yuma dismantling Burns, Wyoming, 38-3 last Friday in its home opener, while the Stallions rolled Jefferson 52-0 last Thursday. They are averaging 54 points per game, including a 56-12 win over Denver Christian in the opener.
Banning Lewis visited Yuma last season on a hot, windy Thursday night and were handed a 49-0 shellacking.
However, the Stallions return nearly all their players from last season, while Yuma is a new-look team.
Yuma heads south in pursuit of the program’s second straight 3-0 start. The YFT travels to Brush next Friday, then gets a week off before beginning North Central Conference play.
The NCC continues to assert itself early in the 2023 season.
Top-ranked Limon made the long trip to Meeker for a 28-7 win last weekend, while No. 2 Wray rolled at Goodland, Kansas, 52-14, and No. 4 Holyoke cruised past Lincoln 51-0. However No. 3 Wiggins lost at home to No. 5 Strasburg 27-22, and Burlington lost 33-12 at Elizabeth.
This weekend sees Burlington hosting Goodland, Limon hosts Strasburg in a big 1A showdown, Wray is a Scott City, Kansas, Holyoke travels to Colby, Kansas, and Wiggins is at Rocky Ford.
It took awhile for Yuma to find its stride last Friday against the Burns Broncs. However, the home boys eventually amassed 509 total yards. Most of it came courtesy of the run game as Yuma had 494 rushing yards, averaging 8.8 yards per run. Meanwhile, the defense held the Broncs to 174 total yards, 93 rushing and 81 passing.
It was the second straight game in which the defense nearly pitched a shutout.
Yuma got on the board in the first quarter on Silas Baucke’s 12-yard run. Baucke scored again on a 10-yard run in the second as Yuma led 12-0 at halftime.
The former Indians then broke it open in the third quarter with a four-touchdown outburst.
Jonathan Thomson scored on a 31-yard run, followed by Damien Kosinski’s 14-yard TD run. Marvin Duarte then followed with a three-yard scoring run, for a 30-0 lead.
Later in the third, Thomson scrambled on a pass plan, nearly went out of bounds, spun around and then launched a pass into the end zone to a wide-open Brody Sheffield for a 15-yard TD pass.
Yuma, which has not attempted an extra-point kick yet this season, finally scored the 2-point attempt as Baucke ran it up the middle for 38-0 lead.
Burns eventually scored on a six-yard run, and then ran in the 2-point conversion for the final score.
Thomson ran 16 times for 181 yards and one TD, Koskinski six runs for 129 yards and one TD, Baucke 97 yards and two scores on 16 carries, Duarte 43 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, Christian Thomson 21 yards on two attempts, Sheffield six yards, and Adrian Carranza five yards. Thomson completed one of six pass attempts for 15 yards and the touchdown to Sheffield.
Thomson also came up with two interceptions on defense, while Carranza had one interception, and Kosinski recovered a fumble. Duarte was in on seven tackles, Sheffield six, Kosinski five, Hugo Montes five, Carranza five, Carson Lynch five, Reyli Trejo four, Baucke three, Thomson two, Trey Stegman two, Pablo Becerra two, Dallas Brunch two, and Christian Munoz, Aidan Chadwick, Daden Beauprez and Tanner Himes one each.
