COTTONWOOD — Gabriel Ricketts and Grady Rose each tallied a pair of scores, Bradshaw Mountain’s special teams unit recorded four blocked kicks and a bad-snap recovery for a touchdown and the Bears began Grand Canyon region play with a surprising 41-0 rout over Mingus on Friday night.

“This showed the whole region that we’re coming back for our region title,” Ricketts said in a postgame interview, adding that he wasn’t surprised at the score.

“I knew we were going to put up a fight. We definitely did, 41-0,” the 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back said.

With Ricketts' two touchdowns Friday, the junior now has eight on the season.

It is the second straight victory for No. 23-ranked Bradshaw Mountain (3-3, 1-0 4A Grand Canyon), which had lost three straight before a 37-8 win a week ago.

During that three-game losing streak, Bradshaw Mountain lost to two-time defending 3A state champ Snowflake, 19-3, and suffered a two-point loss at the hands of Combs (36-34).

Bradshaw Mountain running back Gabriel Ricketts powers his way through the line of scrimmage while Mingus linebacker Makai Arnaudo (35) tries to make the tackle Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, in Cottonwood. The Bears won, 41-0. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)

A DIFFERENT LOOK

Across from the visitor sideline, one that Bears head coach Bob Young knows all too well, No. 18 Mingus appeared ready to play having won three straight coming into Week 7 on Friday night, including shut out victories over Washington (48-0) and Deer Valley (34-0).

But a hurry-up offense on Bradshaw Mountain’s first drive confused the Mingus defense, which gave the Bears only 2 or 3 yards per play, but took up nearly 9 minutes of play clock in the first quarter before Ricketts finally punched it across the goal line for a score.

Ricketts scored his second touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run with 45 seconds left in the first half, then Jordan Kelley capped the club’s first drive in the third quarter with another score, making it 21-0.

After two, 1-yard quarterback sneak plays by Rose, Bradshaw Mountain led 35-0 with 8:50 left in the game and they never looked back.

YOUNG RETURNS

Young, who led the Marauders for nearly two decades from 1995-1997 and 2000-2017, said “it’s still strange” standing on the visitor sideline at Mingus.

With 191 career victories, Young is now 3-0 against his old team with a 42-6 win in 2020, his first year as Bears head coach, and a 57-45 thriller a season ago.

Rose believes the 41-0 victory had more to do with coach Young, rather than how well the Bears played.

“I just want to state that this game was not just about us, not just about us chasing another region title. It was for coach Young. This was his school [Mingus], and coming over the hill and starting to coach us, he’s one of the greatest coaches I’ve been around,” Rose said. “I think a lot of that 41-0 was our drive to do well for coach Young.”

Young praised his special teams unit on their effort Friday night, recording a defensive recovery in the end zone for a touchdown, one blocked field goal and three blocked punts, the last of which was by Bears defensive end James Giggey early in the fourth quarter.

“We strive to be great on special teams. We talk about it and talk about it, and we’ve gotten so much better,” Young said. “We’ve improved so much in every facet, but I’m so proud of special teams. They created field position and points.”

As for the offense, which Mingus had no answer for all night, Young pointed to the offensive line.

“I’ll have to watch the film, but our offensive line must have done a really good job. They have a stout defense, they’ve shut three teams out, and we were able to run. We had time to throw when we needed to. I think it started with the offensive line. They continue to get better every week,” Young said.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD?

Mingus head coach Dave Moncibaez, who played football for the Marauders in the late 1990s, searched for answers at midfield after Friday’s loss.

“We have to get to work. We have to put some more work in. The kids were excited, yet nervous, and I think the nerves got to us,” Moncibaez said, adding that he’s obviously concerned about his special teams unit and how poorly they played against the Bears.

“The good thing is, it’s the beginning of region play. We have to let this one go. We have to prepare for Coconino. This game is over, there’s nothing we can do about it except learn from it and move forward,” Moncibaez said.

Mingus head coach Dave Moncibaez, second from right, talks with safety Mario Camacho on the sideline Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The Marauders lost to Bradshaw Mountain 41-0. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)UP NEXT

Mingus (4-2, 0-1 4A Grand Canyon) heads north to Flagstaff on Friday, Oct. 21, to play Coconino (2-4, 0-1 4A Grand Canyon). The Panthers lost 14-7 to Lee Williams on Friday night.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

In Week 8, Bradshaw Mountain is scheduled to host Prescott (5-1, 1-0 4A Grand Canyon), which throttled rival Flagstaff 58-14 on Friday night at the Walkup Skydome.

The Bears have likely had the Prescott game circled on their calendar for months. After defeating the cross-town rival 24-6 to win the Grand Canyon region a season ago, the Badgers ended Bradshaw Mountain’s season in the first round of the 4A state playoffs last November, 14-6.

Kickoff on Friday, Oct. 21, is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.