Coleman’s big plays put Mojave in reach of 5A football playoffs — PHOTOS
Some football teams live on sustained drives and limiting opponents’ opportunities. For Mojave, it was all about the big play Friday night.
And no plays were bigger than a pair turned in by junior receiver S’marion Coleman.
Coleman caught a 91-yard touchdown pass and added an 87-yard scoring run to help the Rattlers to a 34-10 home win over Palo Verde. The win put Mojave (5-5, 3-2 Class 5A Desert League) in good position to make the 5A Southern Region playoffs. Those pairings will be finalized when the final NIAA HRM rankings are released Sunday.
“I think S’marion Coleman’s the best athlete in the state,” Mojave coach Wes Pacheco said. “He’s the best receiver in the state. He’s a high-character guy, 3.6 GPA. He does everything, right? This is no surprise to us.”
The Rattlers entered the game 11th in the NIAA HRM rankings, and the win should be enough to secure a playoff berth. The top 12 teams in the rankings advance to the postseason. Mojave won the Class 4A state title last fall before moving up to Class 5A this season.
“For this program, it means a lot,” Pacheco said. “I feel this has been a more meaningful season than even last season. I’m so proud of these guys, and I’m proud of them sticking together.”
Coleman may have had the two longest plays, but he was hardly the only big-play threat for the Rattlers. Senior running back Francisco Reinares did his part, turning in three runs of at least 23 yards.
The biggest came with Mojave trailing 10-7 late in the first half.
Reinares had no yards on his first two carries, but found a huge hole inside, rushing 72 yards to move the ball to the Palo Verde 8-yard line. Two plays later, 313-pound defensive lineman Jamaari Williams scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 10-7, and the Rattlers wouldn’t trail again.
“It’s not just the player’s skill, it’s the whole offense,” Reinares said. “Even if it is skill, we still got a lot of help with our blockers, our O-line, our other receivers. Everybody does their job, and we just came out on top.”
Reinares finished with 159 yards on eight carries. His 30-yard TD run with 1:26 to go put the game away.
“The defense, they were stacking the box,” Reinares said. “I saw at least five D-linemen almost every time. They always sent a linebacker, or there’s always a blitz, so that just gave me a perfect opportunity to just go through the middle.”
Coleman’s first big play came on third-and-23 from Mojave’s 9-yard line. Junior quarterback RaJahn Butler dropped back and found Coleman open on a post route. Coleman caught the ball near midfield and raced to the end zone untouched for a 7-0 lead with 11:46 to go in the first half.
The Rattlers led 20-10 when Coleman took a pitch from Reinares on a reverse and streaked 87 yards down the right sideline, avoiding a defender inside the 10, for a score that put Mojave up by 17 points.
“We go as far as a guy like S’marion Coleman and RaJahn Butler and Frankie Reinares … we just have got hungry guys that want to make plays for their teammates,” Pacheco said.
Coleman had four carries for 114 yards and three catches for 94 yards. Butler completed 6 of 17 passes for 121 yards and added 61 rushing yards on 18 carries.
The Rattlers defense forced three turnovers, with Elijah Richard picking off a pair of passes inside the Mojave 5-yard line.
“We’re a defensive-first program,” Pacheco said. “I’m a defensive guy, so as head coach I believe the strength of our team has always got to be defense. We’ve made strides. We’ve improved as the season progressed, and we’ve got to the point where we play team defense.”
Moziah Kitiona had a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery to lead the Panthers (3-7, 1-4).
