Photo: 1 Uriah Tenette accounted for four of the six Badger touchdowns
In a game that resembled the first game of the season, the Prescott Badgers scored all of their points in the first half to beat the Mingus Marauders 40-0 in Cottonwood, to close out the regular season.
The win gives Prescott (9-1), their best regular season record since 1988, when the Badgers lost in the semifinals to finish (12-1).
Mingus took the opening kickoff and went three and out, something that would happen a lot in the first half.
Prescott scored on each of their six possessions with quarterback Uriah Tenette rolled out to his left to look for a receiver, then took it himself the nine yards for a 6-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
Wyatt Perce recovered a fumble at the Mingus 27, setting up a short field and another touchdown when Garrison Gray ran the ball in from four yards out. A two point conversion pass failed keeping the score 13-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Marauders changed quarterbacks from Noah Seda to Reighns Stokes, but that did not do much to help. Reighns was welcomed into the game with a sack by Brody Hanna and another three and out.
The Badgers went up 19-0 in the final minute of the opening quarter when Tenette connected with Kenny Miller-Terry on a 17 yard touchdown pass play. The kick was blocked leaving Prescott still up three scores.
The second quarter the defense brought another sack on Seda. This time it was a team effort with Cooper Kasun joining Hanna on the play dropping the Mingus QB at his own three yard line.
Starting in Marauder territory, the Badgers got Adam Lloyd his first carry of the game, followed by a 26 yard pass reception by Kasun to the Mingus 19. Tenette took it from there, once again rolling out to pass, then taking off for the final 19 yards and his second TD of the night and 14th of the season.
Trailing 26-0, Mingus once again had another three and out. Jacob Chamberlain busted through with the punt block setting up the Badgers at the Mingus 10 yard line. Tenette connected with Bruhshaun Lott on the first play for a 10 yard scoring strike to lead 33-0 midway through the second quarter.
Like a broken record, the Marauders were forced to punt again after another three and out. Prescott scored what would be their final points with a minute left in the half when Tenette threw a three yard pass to Lloyd for a 40-0 lead, and giving the senior quarterback 17 touchdown passes on the season.
The second half was a running clock which made the remainder of the game go quick. The Badger bench saw the majority of the action and Mingus was able to get some positive yards after a negative first half.
Sophomore Eugene Low saw his first action since the home opener as he replaced Tenette. As Mingus began to move the ball, Nicholas Phillips recovered a Marauder fumble on Prescott 34. In the next series, Rutger Funk sacked the Mingus QB Stokes.
The Marauders though they had finally scored but a pass from Stokes to Reighns was caught but was ruled out of bounds with eight seconds left. Braylon Johnson then came up with his first interception to end the game
Prescott, the Grand Canyon Region champs, will get to face Vista Grande for a second time on Bill Shepard Field in the first round of the playoffs on Friday at 7 pm. Bradshaw Mountain and Coconino also earned playoff spots. See below for the matchups.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 40, MINGUS MARAUDERS 0
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Prescott 19 21 0 0 – 40
Mingus 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring Summary
P-Tenette 9 yard run (Gundermann kick)
P-Gray 4 yard run (Pass failed)
P-Miller-Terry 17 yard pass from Tenette (Kick blocked)
P-Tenette 19 yard run (Gundermann kick)
P-Lott 10 yard pass from Tenette (Gundermann kick)
P-Lloyd 3 yard pass from Tenette (Gundermann kick)
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Prescott 5-0 9-1
Bradshaw Mountain 4-1 7-3
Coconino 3-2 6-4
Flagstaff 2-3 6-4
Lee Williams 1-4 2-8
Mingus 0-5 1-9
SCOREBOARD
Prescott 40, Mingus 0
Bradshaw Mountain 47, Lee Williams 29
Coconino 49, Flagstaff 26
AZ College Prep 42, Arcadia 24
Basha 31, Perry 11
Boulder Creek 42, Chaparral 14
Camelback 43, Central 9
Eastmark 31, Apache Junction 0
Estrella Foothills 21, Deer Valley 7
Gila Ridge 13, Independence 7
Hamilton 56, Chandler 14
Lake Havasu 48, Buckeye 16
Mica Mountain 47, Catalina Foothills 6
Moon Valley 29, Glendale 13
Peoria 39, Carl Hayden 0
Pinnacle 48, Saguaro 14
Poston Butte 45, Marcos de Niza 18
Salpointe Catholic 45, Brophy 30
Seton Catholic Prep 63, La Joya Community 12
Snowflake 45, Sierra Linda 20
Thunderbird 27, St. Mary’s 10
Vista Grande 21, Combs 16
Walden Grove 37, Canyon Del Oro 21
Washington 23, Maryvale 22
Youngker 27, Greenway 26
Yuma Catholic 35, Northwest Christian 20
3A Playoffs-First Round
ALA-Ironwood 36, Payson 20
ALA-West Foothills 49, Dysart 14
Benjamin Franklin 46, Page 0
Florence 21, Wickenburg 7
Paradise Honors 34, Mohave 24
Pusch Ridge 43, Blue Ridge 0
Round Valley 35, River Valley 18
Thatcher 56, Gilbert Christian 14
2A Playoffs- First Round
Arizona Lutheran 80, Miami 20
Bisbee 33, Camp Verde 20
Pima 44, St. Johns 27
San Tan Charter 50, Holbrook 24
Scottsdale Christian 28, Santa Cruz Valley 6
Scottsdale Prep 27, Willcox 21
Tonopah Valley 24, Parker 22
Veritas Prep 23, Phoenix Christian 20
1A Semifinals
Bagdad 48m Mogollon 26
Hayden 53, St. David 6
4A DIVISION PLAYOFFS – First Round, Friday, 7pm
#16 Combs (6-4) at #1 Snowflake (10-0)
#9 Walden Grove (6-4) at # 8 Northwest Christian (7-3)
#12 Bradshaw Mountain (7-3) at # 5 Thunderbird (9-1)
#13 Coconino (6-4) at #4 Mica Mountain (10-0)
#14 Canyon Del Oro (6-4) at #3 Snowflake (10-0)
#11 Vista Grande (7-3) at #6 Prescott (9-1)
#10 Seton Catholic Prep (7-3) at #7 Arcadia (9-1)
#15 Estrella Foothills (8-2) at #2 Yuma Catholic (9-1)
