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Corona Sports Report
Second chance for struggling Aztecs

By Brian Gomez

After losing two straight games by a combined two points, Corona del Sol High School’s varsity football team was due to get a chance to wipe the slate clean Oct. 10 when it opens Central Region play against No.12-ranked Yuma High.

That sigh of relief you hear whistling across the Kyrene Corridor is likely being exhaled from Corona head coach Gary Venturo, whose team’s 17-16 setback against Gilbert Mesquite last week came on the heels of a 55-54 quadruple overtime loss to Phoenix Alhambra.

Or maybe it’s being released by backup place-kicker Tony Vidare, who had a field-goal attempt blocked against Mesquite, then pushed the potential game-winner wide right with 18 seconds remaining.

Regardless of what the Aztecs (2-3) are feeling at the season midpoint, they’re perceiving the Central Region opener as a fresh start, given the fact that the prospect of an at-large bid to the state playoffs appears to have slipped away.

“We’re not building for the future,” Venturo said. “We’re building for next week and for every week after that. Young kids are more resilient than coaches, and they’ll bounce back.”

Playing Yuma (5-0) after back-to-back losses would have probably been a nice confidence-booster last season. However, that’s not the case this fall. Buoyed by a 42-0 win over Phoenix Central last week, Yuma is unbeaten heading into the outset of its second stint in the Central Region.

The Criminals went 1-9 last year as members of the Metro Region, but they’ve thrived since replacing Scottsdale Desert Mountain as the Central Region’s fifth team, mainly because of the emergence of tight end/linebacker Mike Arberry and offensive lineman Adam Flynn.

Yuma head coach Larry Stovall’s team likes to put the ball on the ground behind a pair of powerful runners. On defense, Yuma operates a 4-4 scheme that features lots of stunts.

For the Aztecs, the biggest challenge this week lies within themselves. They’re psychologically drained after being on the cusp of victory the past two weeks, only to endure painful defeats.

The game isn’t necessarily a must-win, but Corona can’t afford many more losses, especially against Central Region opponents. The Aztecs didn’t make the playoffs with a 6-4 record last season, and a similar finish likely won’t be good enough this year.

Capturing the region title is the team’s most legitimate means of advancing to the postseason, even though the feat has been accomplished only twice in school history ¾ once in 1991 under Venturo and once in 1981 under former head coach Larry Hughes.

Junior running back Daniel McClendon (concussion) and sophomore place-kicker Kevin Hager (leg) are both expected to return against Yuma. Senior lineman Allen Smith looked impressive last week after missing the previous two games with an injured shoulder.

“We’ve just got to get over that little hump,” Venturo said. “We’ve got to win one at a time, and let everything else take care of itself.”

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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