'Rocks reach semis

TUCSON — Ed Harris has had his fair share of big games, but even by his standards Friday’s game may have topped them all. The senior rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns for Yuma Catholic in its quarterfinal win against Pusch Ridge 28-7.

The Shamrocks advance to the semifinals of the 2A State Playoffs where they will face No. 9 Wilcox Saturday at North Canyon High in Phoenix. It’s the first time that Yuma Catholic has reached the semifinals under coach Rhett Stallworth.

“It was different today,” Harris said. “This has been where we’ve  been stopped. It’s nice knowing that we finally accomplished what we’ve been trying to do all these years.”

Harris scored the first two touchdowns of the game, including one from 3 yards in the third quarter, to give the Shamrocks a 14-0 advantage.

But on the Lions’ first play after the Harris touchdown, quarterback Greg Schimke connected with Trevor Cook for a 69-yard touchdown to bring the Lions within a score.

Yuma Catholic went three-and-out on its next possession and Schimke drove Pusch Ridge all the way down to the Yuma Catholic 4-yard line before throwing an incompletion on third-and-goal.

Pusch Ridge lined up for a field goal that was blocked by Robert Norton.

But the Shamrocks were unable to turn that turnover into any points after a run on fourth-and-two by Harris failed to pass the first down marker.

The Lions proceeded to pick apart the Shamrock defense, driving the ball to the 22-yard line. On first-and-10, Yuma Catholic’s Joe Gandara picked off Schimke’s pass that was thrown near the goal line.

Five plays later, Julian Higuera ran into the end zone to give the Shamrocks a 21-7 lead.

“If we didn’t play great defense, we were going to lose the game,” Stallworth said. “We took a chance and we locked up with their receivers and didn’t play with a free safety all night. We tried to get a rush, we tried to do some things and it worked out in our favor.”

Schimke’s interception was only the fifth thrown this season. He didn’t complete another pass until the last play of the game.

The Shamrocks had near picks on several passes thrown by Schimke, but they continuously fell out of their hands or into a receiver’s hands.

“I got to give it to the coaches,” Yuma Catholic safety Tanner Mixon said. “They prepared us and worked with us on the different schemes.  Every play (Stallworth) told me where the ball was going to be.”

The Shamrocks were unable to get any momentum early in the game. On the first two possessions, YC netted 4 yards and went three-and-out on consecutive possessions.

Yuma Catholic’s second punt, with the ball at the 10-yard line, was nearly blocked after a defensive lineman managed to penetrate, but Mixon managed to get the ball off and net 31 yards with the kick.

“He’s really not our best punter,” Stallworth said. “But in that circumstance with our back against the wall, he’s the guy we want taking the snap.”

After running for only 8 yards on his first four carries, Harris picked up 28-yards on back-to-back carries and ran the ball in from the 1-yard line to cap a six play, 74-yard drive to give Yuma Catholic its first points.

“(Harris) just wore us down,” Pusch Ridge coach Bob Vance said. “We don’t have enough depth and he’s a big, strong boy and they wore us down.”

Harris had his number called 29 times and averaged just less than 10 yards a carry. Stallworth said he wasn’t shy about using Harris and isn’t afraid of Wilcox keying on him.

“I think we’ve shown our hand to everybody all year,” Stallworth said. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do. We’re going to go with the guy that got us to the dance and I’m dancing with him.”