In a 5A Conference matchup between the No. 2 Cienega Bobcats and the No. 4 Ironwood Ridge Knighthawks, Cienega came out on top, 52- 27. 

The Bobcats, led by head coach Pat Nugent, got off to a rough start. On the very first play of their initial drive, the Knighthawk’s Daniel Peabody forced and recovered a fumble.

The recovery led to a seven-play drive that ended in an Ironwood Ridge touchdown. Junior running back Nick Brahler rushed six times during the scoring drive.

Brahler handled a majority of the workload for the Knighthawks, recording 243 yards and a touchdown on 33 attempts. Knighthawks head coach Matthew Johnson praised Brahler for his efforts, saying he filled the void that starter Soma Helu left when he went down with a broken leg last week against Tucson High. 

The lost fumble to open the game didn’t seem to deter the Bobcats, as Jamarye Joiner remained poised under center and led his team to victory. In the first quarter, Joiner diced up the Knighthawks secondary and dropped two deep bombs for touchdowns, one for 55 yards and another for 46.

Both of those passes wound up in the hands of the senior wide receiver Breaben Bolton. Joiner wasn’t done, as he threw for two more touchdowns and 237 total yards.

Joiner attributed his success against the Knighthawks to his team's preparation throughout the week. Joiner said that he knew what Ironwood Ridge would run because it was the same thing Cienega watched on film earlier in the week.

Joiner’s counterpart, the Knighthawks quarterback, Cole Gerken, seemed to have trouble steering the offense. Gerken went 7 for 16, throwing for 83 yards and one interception.

Nugent praised his team’s resiliency, saying he was happy with how it responded to being in a one-possession game for the first three quarters for the first time.

“We haven’t been in a close game yet this year, so I was really proud of our kids to hang in there,” Nugent said.  

The Knighthawks stayed in the game until the fourth quarter, when Ironwood Ridge ran into issues. After a Joiner interception, his first of the season, Ironwood Ridge gave it right back after a fumble by Nathan Grijalva in the red zone.

But the Bobcats went three-and-out on its next possession. Ironwood Ridge, however, fumbled again on its next drive, and Cienega capitalized this time with a touchdown.

Next week, Cienega faces the Mountain View Mountain Lions in an effort to finish the regular season with a 10-0 record, and Ironwood Ridge (7-2) heads to Sahuaro to take on the Cougars.