COTTONWOOD — Quarterback Luke Berlin threw two touchdown passes, Karlo Harris scored three times and Blue Ridge continued their perfect start to the season with a 33-6 victory over Mingus on Friday night.

It is the fourth straight victory to begin the 2024 campaign for the Yellow Jackets (4-0, 0-0 3A East), which surrendered only a Remington Stokes kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Blue Ridge has outscored their opponents 159-14 to start the fall.

Despite the lopsided victory, coach Eric Hjalmarson believes there’s a lot more growth his team needs to go through if they are to compete at state.

“We played well at times. We played poor at times. If we can get everything put together, we could be really dangerous,” Hjalmarson said. “But we have yet to put a whole game together.”

Coming into Friday’s contest, Blue Ridge’s opponent win-loss record was 0-9.

Harris opened the game’s scoring with a 12-yard run on a fourth down, then after watching teammate Trenyn Trickey catch a 23-yard throw from Berlin for six, scored his second touchdown of the night to put the Yellow Jackets up 18-0 with 40 seconds to go in the first half and they never looked back.

“I like to run the run ball hard. I like to help my boys out as much as I can,” Harris said. “We have to be moving the ball and not staying in one spot. I tried to run my heart out tonight and help the team out best I could.”

Blue Ridge running back Karlo Harris (12) falls forward for an extra yard against Mingus on Friday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Cottonwood. The junior had three rushing touchdowns in a 33-6 win for the Yellow Jackets. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365.com)

Hjalmarson said that Harris is a “tough kid.”

“[He] plays both sides of the ball, has a motor, doesn’t stop. He’s a great kid, fun to coach and good at school. He has a bright future,” Hjalmarson said, adding Blue Ridge needs to keep improving and not worry about being 4-0.

“We must get better each week. One game at a time and not worry about the opponent. I worry about ourselves more than anything,” Hjalmarson said. “We haven’t clicked on all cylinders yet.”

MINGUS COACHING CAROUSEL

The once-proud Marauders football program has gone through its fair share of changes with four coaches in five seasons.

Doug Provenzano led the club in 2020 and resigned just three weeks before the 2021 season was set to kick off before Mingus alum Dave Moncibaez took the helm. Moncibaez went 11-19 before resigning at the end of the 2023 campaign.

After Colby Fangman was named the next head coach last spring, Mingus struggled in their offseason program and he suddenly resigned two weeks into camp in August. The school quickly named defensive coordinator Aaron Midkiff his replacement.

“We have coaching changes for the last several years. It’s hard to get kids committed to the program and come back year to year when the program just doesn’t have a stability,” Midkiff said, adding the summer was difficult without “much structure.”

“Our head coach left a couple weeks after the season started, so we had to install a brand-new offense. It’s a little bit tricky for the kids to take that on. But regardless, we’re going to continue to build, and keep guys healthy and happy as they continue to play football,” Midkiff said.

The first-year coach played under northern Arizona coaching legend and current Bradshaw Mountain coach Bob Young when the Marauders won the state championship in 1997.

UP NEXT

Mingus (0-3, 0-0 4A Grand Canyon) heads to Copper Canyon on Friday, Sept. 20. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

After playing three of their first four games on the road, Blue Ridge opens three-straight home contests against Morenci on Friday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.