Scottsdale Christian’s experience outduels Coronado in 67-0 rout
September 25, 2023 by Jace Grenke, Arizona State University
Jace Grenke is a student journalist at Arizona State University assigned to cover Coronado High School for AZPreps365.com
Scottsdale Christian pummeled Coronado Dons 67-0 on Friday.
Coronado’s (0-6) struggles on the field continued as they have still only scored 14 points on the season.
The Eagles (3-2) overpowered the young Dons by scoring 10 touchdowns. After forcing a safety, recovering four fumbles and returning two for touchdowns, the Eagles never looked back.
Coronado was plagued with injuries throughout the entire game, left with few options from the bench. Alexander Delgado and tight end Natham Higuera were sidelined before kickoff due to heart and ankle injuries.
"Most of the injuries so far have been quick recoveries,” said Higuera.
Higuera and Delgado stayed optimistic throughout the game, cheering on their teammates on the sideline.
The Eagles had a lot to celebrate during the game. After the 32-0 first quarter score, the starters were pulled during the second.
Scottsdale Christian head coach Mike Sheahan spoke highly of Coronado as a "super young team" regardless of the game's outcome.
In addition, Sheahan feels really confident in his team’s ability to win games.
“I’m excited. What I did was put together one of the hardest schedules in 2A football to challenge us to get ready for region," Sheahan said. "I wanted to make sure that in our first four games we were prepared to play playoff football earlier in the season against teams like Valley Christian, Pima, San Tan, and Campe Verde."
For Coronado head coach Rick Benjamin, one-sided games can be hard to find optimism and get your players motivated to move forward. But according to the coach, he doesn’t even need to do that.
“I don’t have to. If you saw the looks on their faces, even if they got beat 67 to nothing, the point is these guys are young, they're a good group of kids, and they're trying to learn football," Benjamin said.
"That’s one of the most important things you can get out of football. Sometimes it’s not all about the scoreboard, hopefully one day we’ll get there. I was happy to see these guys with their heads still up, they don't give up and they don’t quit,” said coach Benjamin regarding his team’s motivation.
The Eagles return to the gridiron looking to improve next Friday against 2A Verde region foe Veritas Prep.
The Dons continue their tough region schedule that same evening hosting Shadow Mountain.