In this week’s spotlight game of the week, the undefeated Cienega Bobcats hosted the also undefeated Salpointe Lancers.
Playing without its dynamic running back tandem of Robinson and junior Mario Padilla due to injuries, Salpointe opened the scoring on a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter.
The Lancers held the lead for all of two minutes before Cienega senior quarterback and UA commit Jamarye Joiner scored a 1-yard touchdown with 5:01 left in the opening quarter to give the Bobcats a 7-3 lead.
Joiner ended the game with 94 passing yards, 47 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Cienega added a 35 field goal just 20 seconds into the second quarter to add to its lead, before scoring its second touchdown of the half with eight minutes left until halftime.
Junior running back Thomas Webb Jr. pushed in a 1-yard rush to give his team a 17-3 lead over the Lancers with 7:51 remaining in the half.
Salpointe answered with a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter and the half ended at 17-6.
Sophomore defensive back and wide receiver Lathan Ransom broke the second-half kickoff for 69 yards and put the Lancers within the Cienega red zone right off the bat.
About one minute later, sophomore Shamon Davis took the ball 8 yards through the heart of the Cienega defense for the score, cutting the Bobcat lead to 17-13 with 10:43 left in the third quarter.
Cienega’s next possession resulted in a punt after a quick three-and-out, firmly putting control of the momentum in the hands of the Lancers.
However, that’s when things started to turn for Salpointe, and not in a good way as the team fumbled that punt and Cienega took over deep within Lancer territory.
Salpointe saw its drive stall and was forced to punt with 1:40 left in the third quarter.
Cienega junior wide receiver Terrell Hayward took the punt 70 yards to the house, giving his team the momentum back and adding to the lead in one stroke.
The Bobcats added another score with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter on a 34-yard touchdown pass just one play after picking off Salpointe senior quarterback Rodrigo Nieto.
Salpointe would go on to add another touchdown with 3:59 left, but it was too little, too late as the Bobcats ran out the clock to secure the victory.
