First test still to come for AWC

The first game of the Tom Minnick era at Arizona Western College is in the books, and so far so good.

Or maybe the better phrase might be, "so what?"

The Matadors put on an good show for their home fans and were glad to get their first game out of the way in Saturday night's 54-0 win against American Sports University, but will have to wait until this week's game against Eastern Arizona to see how far they've come along.

"We kept it very basic tonight. There was no reason to show Eastern anything," Minnick said.

Minnick used the word "misleading" in most of his responses to questions following Saturday's game regarding the final score, his offensive and defensive units, and the his two quarterbacks.

AWC's offense racked up nearly 500 yards of offense against a first-year program with only 33 players in uniform. The Matadors showed their capability to strike fast, scoring six touchdowns on drives lasting no more than four plays. But the team relied on big-yardage plays all night, never needing to try and sustain a long drive and committing two turnovers.

"We know we'll have to be ready for a tough game against Eastern," said quarterback Brandon Gorsuch, who shared time running the team with Bryann Mann.

Defensively, Arizona Western controlled the line of scrimmage and broke up American Sports' double wing attack, an offensive style they are not likely to deal with again this year. The Eagles managed to move the ball into the red zone to start the second half on a 12-play drive that ate up nearly 11 minutes and included a fake punt and three AWC penalties.

The good news for the Matadors is that the Gila Monsters did not get much of a test either in their season opener, pummeling New Mexico Prep 64-6. AWC was also able to play its first-string units together for most of the game and avoid any injuries. Defensive starters Marcus Benjamin, Emeka Iweka and Zach Holmes were already out for Saturday's game.

"We wanted them to get out there and play together and keep them sharp," Minnick said. "I wanted to switch things up on offense a little more, but our guys didn't get to play that much in the third quarter."