It was a homecoming for Youngker special teams coach Will Babb – a Peoria football legend and Panthers head coach from 2012-2021 – as well as freshman coach and Peoria graduate Warren Brannoch and, to a lesser extent Youngker head coach Josh SeKoch (a Peoria assistant in 2021). On the home side was most of the rest of that 2021 Peoria staff – second-year head coach Jason Golden and his assistants.
Sept. 28: (4A) Youngker (4-2) 62, (5A) Peoria (3-3) 35
THE STAKES
It’s not really a rivalry or reunion for the players. Peoria and Youngker only played in 2018 and 2019, both easy wins for the Panthers. Instead, both teams looked at this game as a chance to set the tone for Skyline Region play. Peoria and Youngker were at or near the top of the region hopefuls, along with Glendale. And the region title could be the difference between making the 16-team 4A playoff field and not.
THE SCENE
Again, the closeness among the teams has to do with the coaching staff and some administration. It was a Thursday night game and the usual crowd was not there by the tracks at Peoria. Also the Panthers 41-7 home loss to rival Cactus six days before still hung in the air to an extent.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Three or four Roughriders would be excellent candidates. But senior running back Jantzen Ginger is the winner for the biggest, and busiest, night of his life. He already had 20 carries at halftime, more than all but four whole games in his entire career. He also scored the first three touchdowns of the night, from 6, 3 and 1 yards. Then he finished the night with a 30-yard touchdown. The 6-0, 185-pound back finished with 33 carries and 277 yards.
“Today in weights class, Jantzen squatted 450 for three. He’s not taking the day off. That’s his mentality right now. He’s got all As and Bs. He’s kind of flipped a corner. I know he wants to go in the Army but I’m like if he goes in the Army for four years he’s going to be one of those guys that shows up at a college at 225 pounds and a grown man. He’s been fantastic,” SeKoch said. “He’s been working his ass off. I don’t even think he’s tired now.”
PLAY OF THE NIGHT
Which onside kick to choose? Peoria did not have an offensive snap until 3:44 remained in the first quarter and trailed 21-0 by that point. I'll go with the second successful kick. The Roughriders' first kick was somewhere between an onside kick and a deeper squib kick. It lead to a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. But the second straight successful onside was the backbreaker. It was more of a traditional onside kick, and a Peoria player simply mishandled it. Youngker cashed in for a 21-0 lead, which completely took the Panthers out of their game plan.
“There’s familiarity with the staff, and we know they run that wheel. So we didn’t want to give them the chance for that. With Babb being coach and me being there for a year we know what they do special teams wise. Our guy can kick it to the end zone. We just didn’t want to risk it,” SeKoch said.
5 THINGS I LEARNED
* Coach SeKoch said senior Jacob Lira is one of the three best quarterbacks in the West Valley, along with Gage Baker and Navi Bruzon, and he certainly has a good case. Once Giner set the early tone, Lira was nearly perfect with 21 completions in 24 attempts for 281 yards and four touchdowns. He showed off his deep ball in the second quarter with a 67-yard bomb to senior recever Julius Barber. Peoria responded with its own 39-yard passing score. But Lira got one more dart in 1:19 before the half and 1:12 after his last touchdown, a 34-yarder to senior receiver Landon Edwards, who was running a skinny post. That gave Youngker a 41-14 halftime league and largely snuffed out Peoria's opportunity to come back in the second half.
* The Roughriders have a legitimate set of triplets on offense with 5-9 senior receiver Jesus Ordonez, providing tons of yards after the catch for the Buckeye school. He thrives on boundary screens and change of direction routes. Ordonez had a season high nine catches Thursday and finished with 107 yards and picked up the first touchdown of the second half.
* The Youngker secondary was gashed at times by the Panthers. Linebacker Darius Wiley is a standout for the Roughrider defense. And this was probably the best game for Youngker' all junior offensive line. Center Bernardo Avelar was back after an early season injury and the rest of the unit fell into place. And 6-6,290-pound tackle Hayden WIlliams is a legit Division I prospect, who should at least garner offers from FCS schools.
* Peoria has to hit the reset button and catches a much needed break. The Panthers are on a bye this week and in effect will have 14 days of camp before the Oct. 13 game at 3-2 Greenway . Golden indicated a lot of starting roles and playing time decisions are on the line. This young Peoria team made a ton of mental mistakes in the first half, and had numerous instances of players appearing to give up as the game wore on.
* One thing did work for the home team, and it's worked most of the season. Sophomore quarterback Dominic Kramer has an airtight connection with senior receiver Quintin Sullivan. The duo finished with five completions for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
THEY SAID IT
Josh SeKoch: “When Jacob Lira wants to cut it loose, he can cut it loose too. We’re just not a full cut it loose kind of offense,” SeKoch said. “You see some throws that not a lot of high school kids can make.”
“They’ve decided to work incredibly hard in the weight room and it’s paying off. They got to see it today. They get to see everything working for them. I love being on the West Side. I love the grittiness we have at Youngker and the way the kids have wanted to work hard,” SeKoch said. “We don’t have a lot of kids that have actually played football before, so our freshmen generally struggled. Jacob Lira was a flag football guy. Landon Edwards didn’t play. Julius Barber is a home school kid that didn’t play until last year.”
Jantzen Ginger: “We haven’t been to a region title in a minute – ever, actually. So that just brought out more in me to play harder so we could finally make it,” Ginger said.
“Everything we practiced for this week was to have a chance to get into he playoffs,” Ginger said. “It was our biggest win. Deep down I’m still unsatisfied because we’re not there yet.”
(Note: Youngker is now in playoff position, at #12 in the initial 4A rankings.)
“I was showing out for them, as they were showing out for me. It balanced out,” Ginger said.
Jason Golden: “Our defense was out there a long time. Once they got on us 21-0, it was a big letdown. I was proud our offense to keep competing the whole time. There’s a lot to get fixed. The bye week probably comes at a good time, so we can have a couple weeks to evaluate,” Golden said.
“For the next two weeks we’ve got basically eight practices to get ready for Greenway. There’s going to have to be a lot of self reflection and learning from film and seeing who wants to compete,” Golden said. “We can’t have a performance like that in our next game.”
