Hello, Playoffs

November 6, 1998

NAU Walkup Skydome

LEADING IN:  The Eagles had lost the previous two games to the Panthers in heartbreaking fashion, both by a single point, both with chances to win late, and both ending with missed field goal attempts in the final minute of the game.  Last year’s loss hit the Eagles especially hard, as it kept them out of the playoffs.  This time around, ranked #18 in the power rankings, Flag High (5-4) was again in a position—with a little help from others around the state—to get to the postseason, but it wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t get past their nemesis, the Coconino Panthers (4-5).

THE GAME:  The Eagles raced to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.  Ron Jerumbo lead the Eagles offense down the field on their opening drive, lulling the Panthers to sleep with four straight runs, then hitting them hard with a 36-yard scoring strike to Ben Johnson.  The Panthers’ Dennis Clinger fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, giving the Eagles the ball and, three plays later, a two-touchdown lead, thanks to Mack Jones’ 4-yard scamper into the end zone.  Coconino didn’t get on the board until the final minute of the first half, when Clinger got the ball on an option play and threw to a tightly-covered Lincoln Stalnaker for a 10-yard touchdown.  That’s the way it stayed for almost the rest of the game, at 14-7, with the Panthers having their share of chances to tie the game up, including a drive to the Flag High 26 with six minutes left, only to have QB Shane Miller sacked on fourth down to kill their last best chance.  On the ensuing possession, the Eagles managed to gobble up the rest of the clock on an 11-play, 67-yard drive, finished off by a one-yard Jones plunge with less than a minute left.

Flagstaff 20, Coconino 7

AT THE END OF THE DAY:  Flag High needed three things to happen to get into the playoffs; Prescott and Washington to lose, and a win over Coconino.  The stars aligned, and the Eagles eked in.  Their championship dreams, however, were crushed the next week as they lost to the Agua Fria Owls, 56-7.  The Panthers ended their season at 4-6.

SCORING SUMMARY

FHS:  Johnson 36 pass from Jerumbo (Gilsdorf PAT)

FHS:  Jones 4 run (Gilsdorf PAT)       

CHS:  Stalnaker 10 pass from Clinger (Miller PAT)

FHS:  Jones 1 run (kick failed)

TEAM TOTALS

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING

FLAGSTAFF

          Gilsdorf:  20 rushes, 108 yards; Johnson:  6 rushes, 67 yards; Jones:  16 rushes, 43 yards, 2 TD; Darr:  1 rush, 5 yards; Jerumbo:  2 rushes, -12 yards 

COCONINO

          Branch:  18 rushes, 64 yards; Clinger:  10 rushes, 46 yards; Chischilly:  4 rushes, 18 yards; Miller:  8 rushes, 18 yards

RECEIVING

FLAGSTAFF

          Johnson:  1 rec, 36 yards, 1 TD; Jones:  2 rec, 30 yards; Martin:  1 rec, 15 yards

COCONINO

          Stalnaker:  1 TD

PASSING

FLAGSTAFF

          Jerumbo:  12 att, 5 comp, 92 yards, 1 TD; Jones:  1 att

COCONINO

          Chischilly:  13 att, 4 comp, 39 yards, 1 int; Miller:  2 att, 1 comp, 7 yards; Clinger:  1 att, 1 comp, 10 yards, 1 TD

Original story by Chris Lang of the Arizona Daily Sun; November 7, 1998