Kofa QB changes his luck

As the Kofa quarterback, Lucky Castaneda has thrown plenty of interceptions this year.

Now he has one big interception defensively as well.

Castaneda's second-quarter pick of Mike Pancrazi changed the momentum of the game as the Kings scored the last 42 points in a 49-13 win over Gila Ridge in a 5A Gila Valley Region clash at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday.

The pick shocked Castaneda, whose left hand had a gash near the bone from a play earlier in the game. He took the ball 21 yards before being taken down.

"It surprised me because I thought my hand was broken, and it hurt to catch it," Castaneda said. "I was surprised I hung on to it."

Castaneda's interception came early in the second quarter with Kofa clinging to a 14-13 lead. Pancrazi's previous pass - his first of the game - had gone for a 22-yard score to his brother Nathan Pancrazi. Facing a  third-and-nine, Pancrazi went deep, but Castaneda came up with the interception.

After the teams traded scoreless possessions, Kofa (3-5, 2-1 region) opened up an eight-point lead on a 40-yard touchdown run by Timmy Lee, his first run of more than 14 yards in the game on his way to 195 and four scores on 31 carries.

Gila Ridge (2-6, 1-2) had 108 yards of offense before the interception - which occurred with 9 minutes, 21 seconds left in the second quarter - and 47 yards after it.

"They hit a couple big plays on us early and our defense kind of reeled," Kofa coach Kevin Moore said. "That's kind of been our M.O. all season long - teams get big plays on us and we don't step up and make plays. Lucky stepped up and made a play right there and that was a momentum changer."

After a three-and-out for the Hawks and just 40.5 seconds left in the half, Castaneda found Tevin Alford on a streak for a 39-yard touchdown pass for a 28-13 halftime lead.

Castaneda completed five of his first six passes as Lee struggled to get started, netting just 19 yards in the first quarter.

"We want to be able to run to set up to pass the ball, but tonight we were able to pass the ball to run it," Moore said. "When we got Lucky clicking like that, it sure opens things up for Lucky and the offensive line again did a good job opening up holes for him."

Castaneda finished with 112 yards passing, 53 to brother Dominic Castaneda, and threw two touchdowns. Kelvin Harold led the Hawks with 79 yards, 60 coming on the game's third play from scrimmage for a touchdown.

Kofa took a 7-6 lead on a 4-yard run from Kofa that capped a six-minute drive.

The Kings opened the third quarter with a five-minute drive that ended with Lee breaking two tackles for an 11-yard touchdown run. After Matt Clarkson picked off Pancrazi - who finished 1-for-8 for 22 yards,  a touchdown, and two interceptions - Castaneda ran a sneak for a 1-yard score and a 42-13 lead.

Lee capped the scoring with 7:28 left in the fourth with a 7-yard run, putting the finishing touch on a stretch where he ran the ball on 17 of 22 King plays from scrimmage.

The Kings face rival Yuma at home next week, while the Hawks travel to Lake Havasu.

"It gives us a lot of momentum going into the Yuma-Kofa game," Castaneda said. "It should be exciting next week."