Arizona Christian notches first home win over Air Force JV

Former Estrella Foothills quarterback Gerrit Groenewold led Arizona Christian University to its first home win of the season with a 42-38 victory over the Air Force Academy junior varsity squad on Saturday.

Groenewold entered the game with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter to replace the injured Ryan Esslinger.

The win, ACU's second overall of the season, was a come from behind victory during which the Firestorm did not see a lead until 9:12 was left in the game.

Air Force put the first 10 points on the board in the first quarter with a 25-yard field goal by Ryan Jacobs and a six yard rush by Ben Washington.

Arizona Christian (2-3) had possession of the ball at the end of the first quarter and scored during the third play of the second quarter on a 21-yard Michael Costello field goal.

ACU then tied the score at 10 when Groenewold scored on a 9-yard run that culminated with a stretching leap to get the ball across the goal line.

Arizona Christian quarterback Gerrit Groenewold stretches to break the plane of the goal line on a 9 yard touchdown run during the second quarter of ACU's 42-38 victory over Air Force Junior Varsity.

Two more Air Force touchdowns and another Costello field goal made the score 24-13 at the half.

ACU received the ball to start the second half but could not get a first down, forcing a punt.

Air Force mounted and 11 play, 83 yard drive to increase their margin to 31-13.

With the benefit of a 77 yard drive for a touchdown on a Groenewold to Neiman Sneed pass, a quick turnover and a 24-yard Groenewold to Weston Diehl touchdown pass, the Firestorm found themselves right back in the game by cutting the Air Force lead to four points.

Arizona Christian's Neiman Sneed catches his second of two touchdown passes of the game.

Air Force answered quickly when Washington scored on a 61 yard run, increasing the Falcon lead to 11 points.

From that point on it was all Firestorm as another Groenewold to Sneed touchdown pass, this one for 21 yards, a two point conversion on a pass to Stephen Landeros, and a 3-yard touchdown run by Mike Brown gave ACU its first lead of the game.

Air Force had plenty of time on the clock to mount a drive, but key defensive plays thwarted Air Force drives.

A tipped Falcon pass dropped into the arms of ACU's BJ Pelt for the turnover with just over seven minutes to play.

ACU was able to run the clock during its next possession which resulted in a loss of possession on down, but on the Falcons first play of their drive the ACU defense caused a fumble and the ball flew into the hands of Justin Barnes who ran the ball back to the Air Force 34 yard line.

Arizona Christian's Justin Barnes runs ball down field after recovering a fumble by an Air Force JV ball carrier.

The Air Force defense was able to prevent ACU from getting a first down, giving them one more opportunity to mount a drive, however, the Falcons were unable to make a first down and ACU ran the clock during its last possession for the win.

Groenewold threw for 371 and three touchdowns in his relief effort. Prior to his injury, Esslinger had completed 8 of 10 passes for 54 yards and one interception.

PJ Sparks led the Firestorm in rushing with 8 attempts for 48 yards, averaging 6 yards per carry.
In the air ACU spread the ball around to 12 different receivers for a total of 425 yards. LaRon Barnes led the team in catches and total receiving yards. Sneed had four receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, outside linebacker Justin Ganado led the Firestorm with 10 tackles. Lineman Melvin Rogers tallied seven defensive stops.

Next up the ACU Firestorm face Kentucky Wesleyan College on Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Shadow Mountain High School. The Panthers come into the game with a 1-2 record. KWC's win was the program's first victory since 2012.

Arizona Christian team captain Brennan Bowen leads Arizona Christian and Air Force JV players in prayer following the Firestorm's 42-38 victory over the Falcons in a game played at Shadow Mountain High School on Saturday.

VIPERS TROUNCE FLAGSTAFF 60-14

Battle of unbeatens—Buckeye at Verrado—this Friday  

  The Verrado Viper varsity football team travelled to Flagstaff last Saturday with the opportunity to do something the team has never done before—start a season with a 3-0 record.

  

  After a thrilling come-from-behind 42-35 double overtime victory over Tolleson during week 1, and a 43-13 dismantling of Dysart in week 2 the Vipers were treading into new territory.

  

  The prospects for Verrado looked good going into the game. The Eagles were 1-1 in their first two games of the season.  They squeaked out a win over a struggling Phoenix Central team and were soundly defeated on the road by Peoria.

  Clearly, Verrado had the momentum going into the game. The Vipers also had depth in terms of the number of players on the team which seemed double the number of Flagstaff players.

  Verrado did not hesitate to open the scoring. Nathan Roehl took the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in a play that quickly set the tone for the game.

  The Vipers scored in almost every way possible during the game.

  

  Quarterback Lathon Lax scored on a quarterback sneak.

  

  Receiver Xavier James scored on a 48 yard reverse.

  

  Devin Draper recovered a punt, blocked by Dillon Ratliff, in the end zone for a touchdown.

Verrado defensive back Devin Draper celebrates after recovering a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

  Andy Gurnsey recovered a Flagstaff missed lateral pass and rumbled down the sideline for the score.

  

  Isaiah Harrison caught a pass down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

  

  Chris Slaughter ran untouched down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

  

  Verrado’s defense and special teams scored three safeties in the game.

  

  And Verrado’s two place-kickers, Paden Goucher and Danny Casillas kicked 42 and 43-yard field goals respectively.

Verrado's Paden Goucher kicks a 42-yard field goal from a Dillon Ratliff hold to give Verrado a 53-6 in the first quarter.

  

  When the final whistle blew the Vipers had racked up 60 points for the 60-14 win.  It is the most points the Vipers have ever scored in a varsity football game.

  

  In the first three games this season the team has scored 145 points.

  

  Verrado has proven this year they can score from anywhere, which makes this week’s upcoming contest against Buckeye even more intriguing.

  

  The Hawks, also 3-0, have put up 138 points in three games and only allowed 26 points, shutting out two of their opponents.

  

  Buckeye took no prisoners in its latest game against South and scored 67 points.

  

  Still lingering in the memories of both teams is last year’s contest at Buckeye which saw the Hawks win a see-saw battle 32-31. 

  

  First-year Hawk coach Kelley Moore has yet to experience his first Hawks vs. Vipers game.

Verrado head coach Derek Wahlstrom has prepared his team well with an off-season training regimen and tournament play that has helped form a cohesive core of players.

  

  This week’s game, played at Verrado, is a game of the week for many high school football watchers around the valley.

  

  Buckeye has dominated the series as Verrado has yet to defeat the Hawks; however, during the past three seasons, Verrado has managed to narrow the margin of victory each year—a sign of coming of age for a relatively new high school football program.

Buckeye Area Athletes Lead Arizona Christian University in Inaugural Game

Two Buckeye area athletes where among the many Arizona players suited up for Arizona Christian University as the Firestorm played its inaugural game against Evangel University (Springfield, Mo.) on Saturday at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix.

Verrado High School's Bryton Green and Estrella Foothills High School's Gerrit Groenewold served as two of ACU's four team captains during the game.

Arizona Christian Firestorms' four captain shake hands with Evangel University opponents following the coin toss at the inaugural game played at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. Team captains for ACU are Gerrit Groenewold (4), Bryton Green (11), Mike Munsil (55) and Brennan Bowen (54).

Groenewold was given the nod as the starting quarterback by Arizona Christian Head Coach Donnie Yantis. He completed 18 of 32 passes for 170 yards. Groenewold was also the team's leading rusher. He ran the ball 18 times or a net gain of 39 yards.

Green started the game at outside linebacker and was credited with two solo tackles on the night.

Evangel won the game by a lopsided score of 40-16 after leading 23-3 at the half. The crusaders increased their lead to 27 points during their second possession of the second half.

Arizona Christian scored the next 13 points of the game to pull within two touchdowns. The first score came on a 1-yard rush to the right side by running back Mike Brown. Brown's score was set up by a 33-yard pass play from Groenewold to Gabriel Jordan. The point after touchdown attempt following Brown's touchedown failed due to a fumbled snap.

Arizona Christian stopped Evangel and forced a punt on the Crusaders' next possession, but a miscue during the return gave possession back to Evangel at midfield.

ACU head coach Donnie Yantis

Evangel was again stopped by the Arizona Christian defense and forced to punt. Another miscue appeared as if it was going to lead to disastrous consequences when the ball bounced in front of Jordan, glanced off his fingertips continued into the back of the end zone.

Jordan scooped the ball up against the end line, barely avoided an Evangel tackler and then ran, untouched, 108 yards for the touchdown for a record punt return that a sideline official said may never be broken.

At that point the score was 30-16 but Arizona Christian could not close the score as they were held scoreless the rest of the game and Evangel added 10 more points to the scoreboard.

Despite the loss, Arizona Christian was well-backed by their supporters. The announced attendance at the game was 3,561.

Unofficial Arizona United SC Yellow Card Accumulation Summary

Here is an unofficial view of Arizona United SC yellow card accumulation through Aug. 14, 2014, based on uslprosoccer.com game reports. These results may not reflect any post game reviews by the USL disciplinary board.

Joey Dillon leads the team with 6. League guidelines say another suspension occurs after 8 cards.

Paolo DelPiccolo currently has 5 yellow cards. Suspension can be served after a seven day waiting period.

Jonathan Top and London Woodberry stand at four yellows apiece.

The two yellows in one game drawn by Woodberry and Widner Saint-Cyr are treated as straight reds and do not count toward yellow accumulation.

The straight reds drawn by four players should not count toward yellow accumulation.

Player	Yellows
Dillon	6
DelPiccolo	5
Top	4
Woodberry	4
Antunez	3
Tan	3
Baladez	2
Garza	2
Kassel	2
Morrison	2
Newton	2
Robinson	2
Ruthven	2
Saint-Cyr	2
Stisser	2
Wallace	1

Source: uslprosoccer.com game reports

Per USL PRO Staff:

If a player receives two cautions in the same match it is treated the same as a straight red – the player must sit the next match. The two yellows do not count toward accumulation at that point, so the player picks up where he was before the red.   USL PRO’s accumulation suspensions occur at 5, 8, 11, and so on.

Arizona United Still in Quest for Coveted Playoff Slot

The road to a possible USL PRO Soccer playoff berth keeps getting tougher for Arizona United Soccer Club after the team lost its latest game against Sacramento Republic FC by a score of 2-1.

  

Arizona entered the game needing a victory and help from other teams in the league to gain ground in the quest to capture one of eight playoff spots available in the 14-team league.

  

Prior the the game the team had 21 league points.

An Arizona United victory and losses by Orange County and Charlotte would have put Arizona in a three way tie for 10th place and within two points of a coveted playoff spot.

  

Orange County and Charlotte did their part by losing their respective games, but the loss by Arizona and a victory by Pittsburgh pushed Arizona United further down the league table into 13th place.

  

Arizona’s record now stands at 6 wins, 11 losses and 5 draws.

  

To add insult to injury, the team is also feeling the impact of serving a 2-point penalty for inadvertently playing an ineligible player who should have been benched due to yellow card accumulation.

In Saturday’s game, Sacramento seemed to control the ball and tempo throughout the first half. Arizona United Head Coach Michael Dellorusso, however, felt that his team held its own against the fourth-place Republic.

  

“I don’t the intensity was lacking at all,” Dellorusso said. “We knew they would come out fast. They’re a team that like to press and and likes to play quick.

  

“I think our guys did a fantastic job in the first half—staying compact; staying organized.

  

“In the second half the boys did everything I asked of them. What it came down to was them making plays and us not.”

  

The game was scoreless until the 53rd minute when Sacramento’s Jeffrey Koval scored. 

A mental mistake by defender Tyler Ruthven turned the ball over to Sacramento just in front of the goal. 

After a few passes, Sacramento’s Thomas Stewart fed the ball to Jeffrey Koval who slotted the ball into the net to give Sacramento a 1-0 lead.

Arizona United’s Tyler Ruthven (2) walks away dejected after a turnover led to a Sacramento Republic goal.

Arizona was able to even the score just 11 minutes later after substitute forward Jonathan Top took a Jon Okafor centering pass and blasted the ball past Sacramento goal keeper Jacob Gleeson.

Arizona United's Jonathan Top scored a goal in the second half to even the score at 1-1.

“I was able to get in a good spot and thankfully found the back of the net today,” Top said.

  

Unfortunately for Arizona the lead would only last 14 minutes as Sacramento’s Justin Braun scored during the game’s 78th minute. Braun took possession of the ball near midfield after a pass was intercepted by midfielder Dakota Collins. Braun dribbled masterfully around two Arizona opponents and then chipped the ball over onrushing Arizona goal keeper Evan Newton for the score.

Arizona United’s Evan Newton (in green) can only watch a ball chipped past by Sacramento’s Justin Braun sails toward the net to score the winning goal in Arizona United’s 2-1 loss to the Republic.

Asked what he tells his players now, knowing that the opportunities to work into a playoff spot are dwinding, Dellorusso simply said “It’s all or nothing”.

Other Notes:

Bryan Gallego, who was on loan to Arizona United by Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers is currently training with the U.S. Men’s National Teams U-23 team. The team is in the Bahamas for a five day training session that included a game against the Bahamas on Wednesday. The U.S. team won that game by a score of 5-1.

Benji Lopez was called up to the USMNT U-20 team earlier this year and participated in an international tournament held at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., in July.

USL PRO Soccer CEO Alec Papadakis was in Peoria for last week’s Arizona United vs. Sacramento Republic game.

  

Papadakis met with the media prior to the game and praised Arizona United Owner Kyle Eng’s leadership and energy and said he expects Eng to be a leader in the USL PRO community.

  

Papadakis also revealed he was in the state to speak with leaders from FC Tucson, a team in the Premier Development League. He said Tucson and other cities in the Southwest are on the USL PRO radar for future expansion.

  

Papadakis said there may be as many as 22 teams in the USL PRO league next year, due mainly to the fact that many MSL teams will be fielding USL PRO affiliates in place of reserve teams in the coming season. Papadakis said the addition of a Tucson team would make a great rivalry for Arizona Soccer fans.

Arizona United Inches Toward League Playoffs

Arizona United Soccer Club has gained seven points in the USL PRO 2014 season standings by virtue of two wins and one draw in the teams last three games.

The team climbed out of the cellar in league standings after its 3-0 victory at home against the Orange County Blues in the fourth match between the two teams this season.  Prior to that game the  team was one of four teams with 17 points at the bottom of the standings.

Arizona’s points results could have been higher this season had the team not been penalized two points for inadvertently using an ineligible player earlier in the season.

The team was also set back by a last second goal by Energy FC of Oklahoma City in a rain-soaked and confusing game on the road last Thursday. Arizona seemed sure to have that game in hand, but a series of plays and penalties at game’s end awarded a penalty kick for Energy FC. The kick was converted and the game finished with a score of 1-1. As a result, Arizona United walked away with two fewer points in the standings.

Arizona United rebounded nicely in a their game two days later against the OC Blues. Dominant throughout, United won the game 3-0 on goals by Matt Kassel, newly acquired striker Long Tan and late-game substitute Kadeem Dacres who scored only three minutes after he came into the game.  It was Arizona’s second win over OC Blues in two games; having previously winning 2-1 at a game played in Irvine, Calif., one week earlier.

Arizona United’s Long Tan plays the ball forward as Brad Stisser looks on. Long scored a goal in the 22nd minute to give Arizona a 1-0 lead over the Orange County Blues. 

Arizona United’s Kadeem Dacres (13) is congratulated by teammates after scoring the teams third goal in the 90th minute.

Long has proven to be a formidable and distracting source to opponent defenses. He scored two goals in the last two games.  His presence has allow play to open up providing more space into which teammates can drift.

Long is also a threat to shoot from anywhere in the attacking third of the field.  He has taken 10 shots total in the three games he has played for Arizona United thus far.

Arizona United has added another forward to its arsenal just this week with the signing of Sam Garza, who most recently has played for Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes and the North American Soccer League’s San Antonio Scorpions.

“Sam is a dynamic, explosive attacking player who will bring a good energy to our group,” said Arizona United Soccer Club head coach Michael Dellorusso.

This weekend Arizona United travels east to North Carolina to take on Wilmington on Friday and Charleston on Saturday.

The team return home on August 2 to play Sacramento Republic. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at ArizonaUnited.com.

Arizona United goal keeper Evan Newton (right) stands his ground against Orange County Blues’ Joshua Suggs attempts to score.

Arizona United Gets Much Needed Victory on the Road

Arizona United SC came a way with a 2-1 victory in a road game played against the Orange County Blues in Irvine, Calif., this past Saturday.

Arizona United, with the newly added attack threat of Chinese-national player Long Tan, was able to pressure and threaten the Blues often during the game.

Arizona struck first in the game and scored during the 37th minute with excellent movement with the ball on a series of passes from Tan to Daniel Antunez to Schillo Tshuma and ultimately to Brad Stisser.  Stisser scored directly on the volley on a crossing pass from Schillo and beat Blue goal keeper Patrick McLain, who had no opportunity to stop the goal during the 37th minute.

It was Stisser’s first goal in his first start with the team. Prior to Saturday’s game, Stisser had played very sparingly for United.

Arizona United’s Brad Stisser, seen here heading the ball away from two Rochester Rhino players, scored the first goal for Arizona United in their 2-1 victory over the Orange County Blue last Saturday. 

The game went to halftime with United leading 1-0.

The next goal was not scored until the 74th minute when substitute Jon Okafor was able to score on a header following a Scott Morrison corner kick which was actually Arizona United’s first corner kick of the game.

Orange Count was able to counter with a goal of its own just three minutes later; however, United was able to hold on for the much needed win.

The victory moved United out of the USL PRO standings cellar and the team now has 16 points. Two points shy of where they would be had the team not been handed a two-point penalty following a player eligibility issue earlier in the season.

Nevertheless, the victory and the team’s performance during the Orange County game showed signs of life in the team that has suffered from frustrating draws and losses.

The team will play one more game on the road this Thursday against Energy FC of Oklahoma City and return home to play the OC Blues in a game at Peoria Sports Complex this Saturday. Game time has been moved to 7:30 p.m. and plenty of seats are available.