No. 13 Pusch Ridge started the season out 1-3 and the inevitable questions started to arise, but a closer look at those losses revealed a team gaining experience against top opponents, not losing its touch. Two losses were to 4A top teams, No. 10 Walden Grove (5-2) and No. 6 Canyon del Oro (5-2), and the other was to the third-ranked team in the 3A Conference, Snowflake (6-1). All that experience paid off in a 40-21 win at home against No. 14 Sahuarita Friday night.

Now 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the 3A South Region, the Lions have control of their own destiny once again while Sahuarita (4-3, 0-2) has some work to do. Unlike Pusch Ridge, the Mustangs started their season off with a bang, The team started out 4-1 with the loss coming in a double-overtime setback to No. 10 Coolidge (6-2). The loss to Pusch Ridge might keep the Mustangs in the top 16 when the new rankings are released Tuesday morning but a region championship is still mathematically possible, especially with Pusch Ridge traveling to No. 7 Sabino (5-2) next Friday.

“We have to go back and hit the reset button,” Sahuarita head coach Don Watt explained. “We have to study some film and see what we did wrong and make some adjustments with our offensive line and get back to do doing the right things. That’s a great team over there and our guys didn’t overlook them. We just need to hit the reset button.”

Pusch Ridge took a 7-0 lead with 8:32 left in the first quarter on a 4-yard run from senior QB Jonathan Stanton but the Mustangs responded by marching down the field on the legs of senior Tucker Leinen but Evan Lovett jumped on a loose ball at his own 12-yard line to end that threat. Still, the Mustangs managed to stop the Lions on the next drive and that led to a 7-yard TD throw from senior QB Colin Fanning to Leinen with 2:45 left in the quarter. A missed kick kept the Lions ahead, 7-6.

All momentum shifted back to Pusch Ridge 15 seconds later thanks to a 97-yard kickoff return from Lovett to put the Lions up 13-6 (missed kick). The Lion defense stopped Sahuarita on the next drive and Lovett came up big again, this time a 71-yard TD catch from Stanton to make it 20-6 with 11:48 left in the half. Seth Johnson hit a 26-yard field goal to increase the lead to 23-6 at the half.

Leinen finished the night with 61 yards rushing and Fanning picked up 130 yards passing but Lovett made his presence known once more, this time 12 seconds into the second half on an 80-yard kickoff return to put Pusch Ridge up 30-6. Fanning hit senior WR Emilio Mendez from 13-yards out to cut the deficit to 30-13 but Lovett cashed in on a 28-yard dash to make it 37-13 with 7:10 left in the third.

Johnson made a 41-yard field goal to increase the lead to 40-13 and Sahuarita closed out the scoring on a dramatic 53-yard pass from junior Orlando Williams to Cristian Gonzales with 2:11 left in the game. Williams ran in a 2-point conversion for the 40-21 final.

Gonzales ended the night with 90 yards receiving to continue his importance to the Mustang offense but the night belonged to Lovett. The son of former University of Arizona standout Lamar Lovett, the sophomore rushed for 80 yards, caught two passes for 78 yards, ran two kickoffs back for touchdowns, recorded three sacks on defense, recovered a fumble and left the game with four touchdowns to his name.

“Just trusting the blocks and following my line,” Lovett said. “Glory to God and to the skills I got from my pops.”

The team lost 13 seniors from the 2017 3A runner-up team that finished 13-1 but that turned out to be a blessing of sorts.

“We have the mindset as a young team that we need to trust the coaching,” Lovett added. “All the guys who mentored us have left and we need to find our new roles.”

Pusch Ridge sophomore Gabriel Castro added 69 yards on the ground to highlight the youth of the Pusch Ridge.

As mentioned before, Pusch Ridge will travel to Sabino next Friday and Sahuarita will travel to No. 37 Catalina (1-7).