MARIPOSA’S BRANDON KINALELE (NO. 32) RUNS THROUGH A TACKLE FOR BIG YARDAGE IN LAST FRIDAY NIGHT’S 77-56 SAL VICTORY AT DENAIR. GAZETTE PHOTO BY DAN TUCKER When a high school football game much more resembles a track meet, it can be entertaining, but it leaves fans wondering why the respective defenses took the evening off.

Last Friday night in Denair, 21 points lit up the scoreboard in the first 3 minutes of the game, 14 for Mariposa’s Grizzlies, and 7 for Denair’s Coyotes in a Southern Athletic League touchdown festival. By the time the game clock wound down, the scoring hadn’t slowed, but Mariposa was in front, 77-56, to post its fourth SAL victory and clinch a slot in the playoffs.

Both teams entered the contest with identical 3-1 SAL records, with the league’s second place playoff berth hanging in the balance.

Mariposa took the opening kickoff and marched up the field for its first touchdown on a 6-yard burst by senior A.J. Hall before 2 minutes had run off the clock in the first quarter.

GRIZZLY SENIOR A.J. HALL (NO. 2) DELIVERS A STRAIGHT ARM IN LAST FRIDAY NIGHT’S 77-56 SOUTHERN ATHLETIC LEAGUE WIN OVER DENAIR. Denair responded by returning the ensuing kick-off 68 yards for its first touchdown and a 7-7 tie. Grizzly junior Brandon Kinalele returned the favor. Kinalele gathered Denair’s kick-off at the Mariposa 15 and slashed his way through the onrushing Coy- ote defenders for an 85-yard touchdown return. With Hall’s PAT kick, Mariposa jumped ahead, 14-7, all within the first 3 minutes of the game.

The Grizzlies would score twice more in the first period, once on a 9-yard crash by Kinalele (his second of four eventual touchdowns), and again on a 10-yard dash by senior Cody Christopher (his first of four touchdowns) to hold a 28-14 margin as the second quarter began.

Denair closed the gap to 28-21 with a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, but the Grizzly ground game was overpowering. Hall scored again on a 10-yard run, Kinalele busted into the end zone from 9 yards out, and Christopher danced through defenders on a 15-yard piroette to make it 48-28 at the intermission.

The Coyotes only outscored Mariposa in one quarter, the third. Denair put 14 points on the board, but a 4-yard strike from MCHS quarterback Jarrett Leonard to senior tight end Cody Wichmann kept Mariposa out in front, 55-42, to open the final quarter.

Mariposa’s porous pass defense yielded an 11-yard touchdown aerial to start the fourth as the Coyotes closed the margin to 55-49. Kinalele pounded into the end zone from 1-yard out, and rushed for the 2-point conversion as the Grizzlies crossed into 60-point territory with a 63-49 lead.

The Coyotes final score came on a 31-yard blocked punt return to make it 63-56, but after that Christopher took over the game with a 55-yard kick-off return and a 63-yard touchdown run to ice the contest.

Christopher finished with 230 yards on the ground, not including his kick-off return. He has rolled up 525 yards in his last two games. “Cody actually played better than he did against Waterford,” said head coach Bob Kelly. “His intensity level was better.”

Kinalele added 96 yards on just 9 carries, plus his 85-yard return. “Brandon ran hard for the entire game, and was really a thorn in their side defensively. He had a solid game,” Kelly said. Both backs finished the game with four touchdowns each.

Hall added a pair of touchdowns, and Leonard was perfect passing, although he threw just twice, once to Wichmann for the 4-yard score, and another 31-yard strike to Frankie Pena.

The Grizzlies allowed Denair quarterback Codee Watts to connect on 18 of 32 pass attepts for 296 yards and 6 touchdowns. There were but two bright spots in that defensive effort as Tommy Stickles (four picks in the last two games) and Joe Grabowski both notched interceptions.

In their last three games the Grizzlies are averaging 58.33 points per game. That may not change on Friday night when Mariposa (4-5 overall) will host the winless Delhi Hawks in the Gold Bowl at the fairgrounds at 7:30 p.m. to conclude SAL action.