Jordan Mitchell leads Cibola past Yuma

Jordan Mitchell tapped his chest and gestured his index finger upward with a kiss on the final three touchdowns he scored.

The running back was paying tribute to his father's aunt.

“My auntie just died in New York,” Mitchell said. “(My father) wanted me to represent for her every time I scored a touchdown.”

Mitchell showed plenty of respect as he ran for three touchdowns and passed for another to help lead the Cibola Raiders past the Yuma Criminals 42-6 Friday in a Gila Valley Region contest at Raider Field.

Steven Mitchell Sr., Jordan's father, said he recently returned from his aunt's funeral and was wearing a button with her picture on it for the rest of October in her remembrance.

Instead of going to New York with him, the father told his sons, Jordan and fullback Steven Mitchell, to stay in town. But when he returned, he also told his sons to play for the family when they faced Yuma.

Although it's customary for Steven Mitchell Sr. to tape every game his son plays, he plans to post this game on the Internet to show the family's relatives.

“We never went back to New York and I never got to see my auntie,” Jordan said. “My auntie really wanted to see us. She died before she could see us.”

Of the four touchdowns Jordan scored to stake Cibola (7-0 overall, 2-0 GVR) to a 28-0 lead, he said his favorite was the 40-yard scamper where be broke multiple arm tackles midway through the first quarter.

“The first touchdown I scored, I forgot to represent for my auntie,” Jordan said. “But then the second time I scored, I did it.”

Steven Mitchell got in on the pact as well as he scored a touchdown and ran for 106 yards in addition to Jordan's 146.

Some teammates were impressed with the brothers' performance.

“It's a great family that they are keeping up,” said right guard Andre Hernandez. “The way they play, that family is amazing. They represented perfectly.”

The Cibola offensive line said it's a great experience to block for the brothers. This was evident in Cibola's ground game as the Raiders racked up 386 rushing yards.

“We open up the holes, (they) hit them, magic happens,” left tackle Adam Vidal said.

Furthermore, Cibola coach Lucky Arvizo credited the offensive line with stellar communication even though they constantly faced eight or nine Yuma defenders near the line of scrimmage.

Travon Clark's 14-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in the game helped the Criminals (0-7, 0-3) avoid their first shutout of the season.

“Not too much to say,” Yuma coach Tom Fox said. “They beat us in every facet of the game.”