The St. Mary’s Knights fell to the Canyon Del Oro, 24-8, their first home game of this season at Phoenix College on Friday.

Both teams had a 2-1 record entering the game, which both teams anticipated to be a 4A conference heavyweight battle. 

“Defensively we need to do our job and be more physical than them. They are a pretty good team offensively, and they have some big guys on the offensive line,” St. Mary's senior quarterback David Galindo said before the kickoff. 

“Offensively we have to be disciplined and have no penalties. We also need to be physical, do our job, and make sure we get good blocks.”

The Knights had trouble stopping the Dorado offense, allowing 358 offensive yards.

CDO marched down the field on its first drive of the game and scored on a trick play pass from junior wide receiver Chase Laux.

St. Mary’s responded well on its first drive toward the CDO's 3-yard line, chose to go for it on fourth-and-goal but were stopped just short of the end zone. 

“For us to get that fourth-down stop changed the momentum for sure," CDO head coach Dustin Peace said. "(The stop) shows a lot of character in us in being able to stay focused as a defensive and get off the field."

The Dorado used this momentum to take a 17-0 lead at halftime, which included a 70-yard bomb from junior quarterback Tristen McClelland to senior WR Daylon Beck.

The second half was the same story.

The Knights started with a three-and-out, and the Dorado struck again in the third quarter. CDO's following drive was capped off by a 34-yard laser caught in the endzone by junior wide receiver Ryan Madsen.

Down 24-0 in the fourth quarter, the Knights were finally able to put together a scoring drive as they rumbled 68 yards down the field. Galindo fought his way into the endzone on two consecutive QB runs to give the Knights their first points of the game. 

The Knights were then able to make back-to-back defensive stops including a forced fumble late in the second half. But it was too little too late as their offense was unable to come away with points for the rest of the game. 

CDO knelt the ball with five seconds left to end the game and seal the victory.

St. Mary’s head coach Jose Lucero wasn’t happy with his team's slow start.

“We’ve definitely got to start faster. Mentally we weren’t too sharp in the second half. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes on film and move onto the next game,” Lucero said.

The Knights look to bounce back when they host Poston Butte (3-1) next Friday at 7 p.m.