By Alex Zener
Corona defeated Perry High School, 21-13, at Perry on Sept. 16, to go up 2-1 for the season.
The Aztecs started strong scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter to go up 14-0 and never looked back.
The first touchdown was during their first possession of the game with a pass from junior quarterback Connor Ackerley and the second was a rushing touchdown by senior running back Jovin Gomez putting Corona up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Perry scored a rushing touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter after the Pumas intercepted an Aztec pass late in the first quarter. Their two-point conversion failed giving the Aztec an eight- point lead at 14-6.
Corona scored a passing touchdown just before the end of the first half after a long pass from Ackerley to Raiden Vines-Bright moved the Aztecs to the 32-yard line.
Kicker Carston Kieffer made his third point-after-kick to make the score 21-6 heading into half-time.
Perry scored a 35-yard rushing touchdown late in the third quarter to make the score 21-13. The Pumas kept the Aztec scoreless the entire second half but were unable to put up any points themselves resulting in a 21-13 final score.
Up next, the Aztec are scheduled to play a home game against Sunnyslope on Sept. 23 and then at Shadow Ridge in Surprise on Sept. 30.
The Sunnyslope Vikings are 2-1 but have outscored the Aztecs on average more than double per game, 38-15, but Corona’s scoreless loss to Chandler, 50-0, had an impact on the average points per game.
The Shadow Ridge Stallions, although 0-3, have shown they can be competitive and score points while still losing to Shadow Ridge in Las Vegas, 43-24, Mountain Ridge in Glendale, 38-27, and Boulder Creek 34-27.
Both teams could be a challenge for the Aztecs.
