Yuma High School’s football team will be attempting to enter the postseason with a winning record when the Outlaws close out the regular season Friday.
They will be hosting perennial power Limon for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Yuma is 4-4 after last Friday’s 44-0 home loss to ancient rival Wray. The Outlaws are No. 13 this week in the 1A CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index. Limon is 6-2 and No. 3 in the Index.
While the Badgers obviously still are salty, they are not the dominant force this season as they have been for quite a long time. They held on for a 12-7 home win over Burlington last Friday in a game which was tied at 0-0 entering the fourth quarter.
In other North Central games, Limon beat Wiggins 21-19, lost to Holyoke 20-17, and was blown out like everybody else by No. 1 Wray, 42-7.
Besides the Wray game, Yuma lost to Burlington 20-12, to Wiggins 27-6 and beat Holyoke 28-22.
Other than everyone taking turns getting walloped by Wray, all of the other North Central games have been tightly contested.
In the other North Central game last week, Holyoke beat Wiggins 28-14 in a game that was tied at halftime.
All six NCC teams are going to qualify for the 16-team playoff field, or so it seems. Yuma is the lowest ranked of the six, and still seem comfortably within the top 16 even with a loss. A win over Limon likely will bump the Outlaws into more-favorable first-round matchup.
Wiggins, 4-4 overall, is No. 5 in the Index, Holyoke, 3-3, is No. 10, Burlington, 3-5, is No. 12.
Besides Limon coming to town, the other NCC games this week have Wiggins hosting Wray, and Burlington hosts Holyoke.
Wray already has wrapped up the conference title, sitting at 4-0 with one game left. Holyoke, Limon and Wiggins both are 2-2, and Burlington and Yuma both 1-3. If Yuma, Burlington and Wray all win this week, five teams will finish with 2-3 conference records.
It was Yuma’s turn to take its licking against Wray, last Friday in Yuma. The Eagles have scored at last 42 points in all of its game except a 28-0 win at Brush. They have won its first four conference games by an average score of 46-5, and all games have gone to a running clock.
Yuma finished last Friday’s game with 83 total yards. Wray had 400 total yards, including 330 on the ground.
Daden Beauprez led Yuma in rushing with 26 yards on six carriers. Jonathan Thomson was held to 20 yards on 11 carries one week after rushing for 217 yards and two touchdown. Christian Thomson had 13 yards on six carries, one week after rushing for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Jose Mario Ross hd five yards, and Adrian Carranza three. Yuma averaged 2.2 yards per rush. J. Thomson completed one pass for eight yards to Reyli Trejo, and Ross one pass for nine yards to C. Thomson.
Wray averaged 8.9 yards per rush and ran for six touchdowns. Samuel Meisner ran for 175 yards and five touchdowns, and Casey Midcap 108 yards and one touchdown. Midcap also completed four passes for 70 yards.
Yuma simply could not stop the Eagles. Wray was its own worst enemy as the Eagles were called for holding multiple times in the first quarter.
They still scored on their first possession on Meisner’s 13-yard run. A 47-yard touchdown run was called back on a holding penalty, but Meisner still scored a few plays later on a nine-yard run. Wray led 12-0 at the end of the first.
Wray scored three more touchdowns in the second for a 34-0 lead. Yuma finally got two first downs in the second due to Wray penalties. The drive eventually ended with an interception.
Wray then drove again, and called some timeouts, in order to attempt a field goal attempt, with Diego De Leon making it from 27 yards right before halftime. It was Wray’s first field goal of the season.
Wray finally got to the running clock late in the third quarter with Meisner’s fifth touchdown.
Yuma committed a fumble and interception in the game. Wray had zero turnovers.
J. Thomson and Iann Duran each were in on seven total tackles for Yuma, Jesus Gordo five, Trejo four, David Covarrubias three, Carranza two, Marvin Duarte two, Dallas Brunk two, Ross two, David Gaytan two, Christian Munoz two, Giovanni Segura two, and C. Thomson, Beauprez, Ethan Nadow, Omar Lozano, and James Brandner one each.