YUMA, AZ – Knowing the way Cibola has approached the entire season, there’s little chance they take a somewhat meaningless home game lightly.
The Raiders have already secured an opportunity to reach the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. So, Friday night’s game against a one-win Yuma team serves in many ways as a tune up.
Cibola (5-3) will play Tucson in the Southern Region championship game next week. They clinched a berth in that game on the final night of the regular season by defeating Kofa on Oct. 14. The winner will be guaranteed a spot in the state tournament.
“Our area of improvement from last week was in the area of tempo on both sides of the ball,” Cibola head coach Lucky Arvizo said. “We want to make sure we are up to par on our execution.”
Execution will be at premium a week from now when they suit up against Tucson, but they still have Yuma (1-7) in front of them. While the Raiders have won the past nine meetings with the Criminals, they have had some close calls, including a thrilling comeback to win, 42-40, in 2014.
Yuma is nursing a seven-game losing streak entering Friday, but they have been relatively competitive for segments of their losses. Whether it was hanging around with then-undefeated Southwest (El Centro) through the first half or putting together arguably their best defensive effort of the season in a 20-0 loss to Kofa that lingered as a one-possession game into the third quarter.
More than anything, the Criminals have been plagued by inconsistency. Their roster, while almost the antithesis of Cibola’s senior-laden group, has been in constant flux due to youth and injury. On Friday, Isaac Ignacio will start at quarterback for the fifth time, but will continue to have a makeshift offensive line in front of him with Shane Garcia continuing to be out with a knee injury. At one point in the season, the Criminals started three undersized sophomores in front of then-quarterback Alex Guerra.
Still, the defense has played admirably. Isaiah Joya has anchored a group of linebackers who will be charged with tracking Cibola running back Jesus Romero. And Erik Flores has played well in a defensive backfield that has not seen a passing offense like Cibola.
Quarterback Curtis Wolfe, who fifth in the state with 2,320 yards and 24 touchdowns, has settled in as a poised passer and he spreads the ball to Mark Walton, Miguel Alvarado, and star wideout Gabriel Claudio. Just as much, though, according to Arvizo, the offensive line has made as much of a difference as any other position group.
“They have given Curtis a lot of time to make throws,” Arvizo said.
On Friday, Wolfe will likely get a lot of time, again. And while the Raiders can’t exactly gain any ground in the AIA standings with another lopsided victory, they will certainly take any momentum they can take into their regional final.
NOTES
Cibola has scored 33 points or more in their past seven games… The Criminals lone win this season (32-28 against Parker) came on the road… Yuma’s last win against Cibola was 28-26 in 2008. They also beat the Raiders, 14-10, the previous season… Besides the 42-40 game in 2014, the Raiders have outscored the Criminals, 141-7, in their other three wins since 2013… Yuma finishes their season next week at home against Gila Ridge…
