YC's run in state ends in quarters

 ST. JOHNS - Yuma Catholic coach Rhett Stallworth has been saying that the road to a state championship goes through St. Johns.

But after an unfortunate incident before the game, some key injuries during the game and 21 points scored by St. Johns' special teams and defensive units combined, that is where the Shamrocks' quest for a state title ended.

The Redskins returned two punts and an interception for their first three touchdowns and went on to end YC's season in the 2A state quarterfinals 42-14 Friday at St. Johns.

Stallworth said he was proud of the way his players handled the adversity.

"We tell them life is just one big struggle, and if you decide to lay down sometimes, you're going to keep laying down the rest of your life. It gets easier and easier," Stallworth said. "Our kids decided that they weren't going to lay down. The score might not reflect it, but they played their butts off."

YC quarterback Matt Inman choked on a piece of steak Thursday night that remained lodged in his throat. He was taken to the hospital to have it removed Friday morning and was under sedation for an hour during the process.

Inman arrived for the game at 5:15 p.m. and suited up and played.

"It affected him a lot," Stallworth said. "I'm really proud of Matt for trying to come through and play when he probably shouldn't have. All the odds were stacked against him from the second he walked on the field. But he went out like a warrior and went out trying. That's all we can do in life."

YC lost running back/defensive back Austin Rodriguez to an injury on its second drive of the first quarter, and fullback David Tate also went down with an injury in the third quarter.

YC took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter on a 1-yard Inman keeper after the Shamrocks recovered a fumble on the St. Johns 40-yard line. Yuma Catholic's other score came late in the fourth quarter when Ernie Samaniego recovered a fumble and returned it 50 yards to paydirt.

"We've been preaching to them that football teaches you a lot of things. And no matter all the adversity, we're not going to sit here and cry over spilled milk and over what's happened to us," Stallworth said. "You just have to keep plugging along and keep fighting, and for the most part our kids just kept fighting till the end. That part I'm proud of them for."