Yuma Catholic faces off with Tucson-Pusch Ridge

Looking at the numbers makes Rhett Stallworth sick. That's probably because they're not in his favor.
 
But that's nothing new for the Yuma Catholic coach, who will travel with his team to Tucson today to play No. 4 Tucson-Pusch Ridge in the quarterfinals of the 2A State Playoffs.
 
There the Shamrocks will face quarterback Greg Schimke, who has thrown for 2,048 yards and 31 touchdowns, and a defense that forced five turnovers in the first round of the playoffs against No. 13 Morenci.
 
"If you look at the numbers, we should get crushed," Stallworth said. "But looking at the film of these guys, I think we've got a good chance."
 
This isn't the first time that the numbers have been unkind to the Shamrocks. Specifically seven; the number of sophomores that would be starting for Yuma Catholic, some on both sides of the ball.
 
It was disconcerting for the third year head coach who said he had always been told for each sophomore you start, take a win off your schedule.
 
"If I did that," Stallworth said. "I wouldn't have any wins left."
 
It may have looked that way after Yuma Catholic's first game against Kofa. The Shamrocks gave up three turnovers, which the Kings turned into 14 points en route to a 28-21 loss.
 
At that point, Stallworth said, even he didn't have much hope for the season. Ten weeks later, the Shamrocks are 9-2, and have outscored opponents 410-74 since the Kofa loss.
 
"This team has transformed so much it's not even funny," Stallworth said. "I went from thinking this was one of the worst teams ever and it's been one of our best teams."
 
So great is the transformation that Stallworth said that this team, since he arrived at Yuma Catholic, is the one with the best chance to bring back a state title.
 
This despite coaching a team that went through the regular season last year 9-1 and a quarterback, Matt Inman, whose awards were only surpassed by the touchdowns he threw.
 
"Looking at Matt last year and all those guys, they liked to throw the ball," Yuma Catholic receiver and safety Tanner Mixon said. "It's nice that we can rely on the run game if we need it."
 
The Shamrocks have transformed to a run-based attack this season with Ed Harris racking up more than 1,500 yards on the ground and 24 total touchdowns.
 
"I've watched the state championship game the past two years," Stallworth said. "The teams that run the football and that have good defenses are the ones that win."
 
But Yuma Catholic proved last week against San Manuel that its defense is playoff ready. The Shamrocks held the Miners to 90 yards rushing and forced four interceptions, including one by Mixon during the 48-6 rout in the first round of the playoffs. Yuma Catholic will once again face a team that isn't shy about its passing game.
 
"They're a good passing team, so it should be fun on my part," Mixon said. "Their receivers run hard, they play hard. It's tough, because they have two threats instead of one."
 
Those two threats are Pusch Ridge wide receivers Trevor Cook and Tyler Vance, who have combined for 1,141 yards and 20 touchdowns. In the game against Morenci the ball was evenly distributed as Cook caught four passes for 58 yards and Vance grabbed three for 59.
 
Despite the Lions' aggressive passing attack, Stallworth said he hasn't changed anything in practice or overemphasized the passing game.
 
"We give the same amount of time each week to the defend run and pass, regardless," Stallworth said. "What this will come down to at the end is execution, fundamentals. If we miss a tackle, they're gone to the house."