FINAL SCORE
Pueblo 26, Cholla 7
Behind a defense that tallied 11 sacks, Pueblo (5-2, 2-0 4A Gila) overpowered its rival Cholla (4-3, 1-1) in the battle for the I-19 Trophy. The Warriors’ offense was efficient enough behind the playmaking abilities of quarterback Roman Otero and receiver Jesus Enriquez and the running of Saint Lopez, Dariuss Taylor and Anthony Sanchez (152 yards rushing combined) to manufacture three time-consuming scoring drives in the second half that kept Cholla at bay.
PHOTO GALLERY BY JOSIAH LOPEZ
PUEBLO KEEPS ROLLING UNDER ALUM LEWIS
Pueblo is now 12-5 in the last two years under alum Sly Lewis after going 2-8 in his first season in 2024. The Warriors earned the 4A Gila title last year and appear to be in a competition with Sahuarita again for the championship. The Mustangs are also 5-2 and 2-0 under former Pueblo coach Jake Allen. The teams meet Oct. 23 at Sahuarita after playing against a couple of struggling teams Friday — Pueblo faces Rio Rico (2-5, 1-1) for Senior Night and Sahuarita hosts Empire (0-7, 0-2).
When asked how Pueblo will keep its edge against Rio Rico with the showdown with Sahuarita the following week, Lewis said, “Brick by brick … we’re not looking down the road. We’re looking at what’s in front of us. We’ve got to get healthy as well, but other than that, we have to make sure that we’re taking care of business.”
That’s exactly what they did against upstart Cholla, which will be a factor in Southern Arizona football for as long as Roland Youngling, Moe Espinoza and David Watson are coaching the Chargers.
Pueblo coach Sly Lewis calls it the “brick-by-brick” mentality of being prepared for every game no matter the opponent. That was evident tonight with the Warriors scoring a TD on their first possession of the game and the initial possession of the second half. Those two TDs turned out to be enough of the difference in a 26-7 win over rival Cholla…