In what head coach Anthony Armas called Denair High’s sloppiest game of the season, the Coyotes made a critical miscue on the game’s final play that allowed Mariposa to escape with a 24-23 overtime victory in Friday night’s Southern League football showdown at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.
With the game knotted 17-17 at the end of regulation, thanks to a 35-yard field goal from DHS kicker Harlan Brown, Mariposa went up 24-17 in the overtime session. Denair countered with Bryson Salazar’s 9-yard touchdown run to make it 24-23, and Coyotes head coach Anthony Armas wasted no time in deciding to go for a two-point conversion – and the victory.
“We were on the road and had a chance to win,” said Armas. “If we kick and tie it up, we get the ball to start the second overtime, and then they could’ve been in a position to decide to go for a tie or the win. I figured, ‘Let’s try to win this thing right here and now.’”
Armas called for an option play around the left end, but the pitch fell to the ground and was recovered by Denair short of the goal line … setting off the Grizzlies’ celebration.
“Our defense played really well,” said Armas. “We only allowed three points in the second half. But we turned the ball over four times, and you just can’t do that and expect to win.”
Senior Degan Butler carried the ball 27 times for 203 yards and scored the third-quarter touchdown that cut Mariposa’s 17-6 advantage to just three points, 17-14. Salazar, who scored a pair of touchdowns, was limited to 48 yards on 14 attempts, while Connor Hart had 28 yards on four carries.
Hart was injured toward the end of the first quarter and wasn’t able to continue playing on both sides of the ball. He played exclusively on defense for the final three quarters.
“It was a factor, but it’s not an excuse,” Armas said of Hart’s injury. “Mariposa was selling out against the run and was very aggressive. We just played really sloppy, with lots of penalties, and couldn’t get anything going.”
The Coyotes have a bye this Friday night, one that Armas said comes at just the right time.
“We’re starting to get a little dinged up, so this will give us a week to get healthy and get some things cleaned up,” said Armas. “This game exposed some things that we’ve been getting away with against other teams. We’ve got to clean them up and then get ready for Delhi.”
Denair falls to 6-2 for the season and 3-1 in the Southern League, while Mariposa remains perfect at 7-0 and 3-0. The Coyotes will need help to grab a piece of the league crown, and the schedule may provide that help.
Denair has games remaining against Delhi (1-6, 0-3) and Waterford (4-3, 1-2), while Mariposa, which had its bye six weeks ago, still faces tough games against Stone Ridge Christian (6-1, 3-1), Waterford, and Le Grand (4-3, 2-2).
If the Coyotes can run the table and have the Grizzlies drop one of their final three, the teams would share the Southern League title (though Mariposa would gain the higher playoff seed based on the teams’ head-to-head result).
