Denair High defeated rival Mariposa 26-20 to gain the inside track in the race for the Southern
League championship Friday night at Jack W. Lytton Stadium.
With the victory, Denair (6-1) grabbed sole possession of first place in the conference at 4-0,
while Mariposa (5-2) suffered its first SL setback of the season, dropping to 3-1 in league action.
The teams met twice last season, with the Grizzlies taking a 24-23 overtime victory at the
Mariposa County Fairgrounds, while the Coyotes won a rematch there, 38-33, in the opening
round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 playoffs.
“I don’t want to say we’re in the driver’s seat,” said head coach Anthony Armas. “In this league,
anybody is capable of beating you.”
The Coyotes, who shared the league title with Mariposa and Stone Ridge Christian in 2025, will
finish the regular season with games against Modesto Christian (2-5), Delhi (0-7), and
Waterford (2-5).
In the end, Friday’s showdown came down to two, time-consuming drives.
Trailing 26-13 with 1:30 to play in the third quarter, Mariposa took possession at its own 25 and
embarked on a 16-play drive that ended with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter when the aptly
named Rusty Bull – who bulled his way for 190 rushing yards on 25 carries – scored from the 1
to make it 26-20.
Denair began the ensuing possession on its own 31 with 6:16 left in the game, and marched 47
yards to the Grizzlies’ 22 before turning the ball over on downs with five seconds remaining.
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Mariposa set up for a desperation pass, but quarterback Austin Battles was chased out of the
pocket, and eventually out of bounds, by junior defensive end Victor Sarmiento.
“I knew there wasn’t much time,” said Sarmiento. “I just wanted to keep the pressure on to
make sure he didn’t turn up field or get off a clean throw.”
Denair led 13-7 at the break and scored on the opening drive of the second half when junior
John Wilmoth busted in from 7 yards out to make it 19-7.
The Grizzlies countered with a 24-yard pass from Battles to Bull to make it 19-13 with 2:39
remaining in the third quarter.
Two plays later, Denair fullback Connor Hart broke free for a 58-yard touchdown to once again
make it a two-score margin.
“I was just waiting for my shot,” said Hart. “I got the ball, I saw everybody going down, and I
just hit the gas.”
Hart, who also plays middle linebacker, figured he’d be plenty sore Saturday morning after the
punishment he took and the punishment he dished out.
“I’m already feeling it right now,” said Hart. “They’re all physical over there, but (Bull) is a
workhorse.”
Hart finished the game with 134 yards on 10 carries and the long TD, while backfield mate Noah
Chavez ran the ball 13 times for 122 yards and one score, which gave the Coyotes a 7-0 lead
with 3:42 to play in the first quarter.
“I really appreciate our offensive line,” said Chavez. “I was so impressed. It seemed like every
time I ran there was a wide-open tunnel.”
Center Jose Mora said he knew the offensive line was going to have to perform at its peak
against Mariposa’s big, physical defensive front.
“I knew everything was going to come down to the offensive line,” said Mora. “We wanted to
get extra yards for Noah and Connor and John, and we wanted to give Derek (Potter) time to
pass.”
Potter completed four of his seven attempts for 36 yards and carried the ball three times for 30
yards.