High school football returned to South Yuma County last week when the Somerton High School Toros played their first home football game in the school’s young history.
The Toros met the oldest high school in the Yuma High School Criminals.
It had all the festivities you might expect from a high school football game. Somerton Mayor Jerry Anaya and city councilmembers led a vehicle caravan from City Hall down Main Street to the school’s parking lot.
Fans, including students, parents, family and friends cheered as did cheerleaders on the sideline. They cheered every first down or big tackle for the Toros.
Because Somerton High School only has freshmen students in its first year, it was a freshman game. The school will add a grade for the next three years and will be able to play at the varsity level in two years. So for now, it’s Thursday Night Lights instead of the usual Friday lights.
After the Criminals scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, Somerton’s Andres Soto scored the Toros’ first touchdown right before halftime.
Neither team scored in the second half so the game ended with a score of Yuma 14, Somerton 7. It was all about the experience for Somerton.
"It was a burst of joy," Soto said. "It was the first touchdown for Somerton High School so I’m pretty happy about it."
He said the environment was "awesome."
"It was the first ever game in Somerton," Soto said. "(It gave us) a lot of positive energy.
Somerton Coach Junior Atherton praised his team not giving up after the Criminals scored early.
"I take away that they faced adversity coming down from last week’s big loss (at Kofa High School)," Atherton said. "They really showed a lot of character and discipline. We had some big mistakes but they overcame those. They never gave up. They stuck together.
The Toros' coach said the Somerton community came together for then.
"It was a lot of support for a freshman game," he said. "This honestly felt like a varsity game. We love the fact that the community supports us and football in Somerton is alive."
The football game was the first in South Yuma County since San Luis High School ended its program in 2013.
Somerton’s next game is tonight at Brawley. The next home game is Sept. 21 against the Kofa Kings.
The Toros compete in other sports at the freshman level, including girls volleyball, swimming, golf and cross country.
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In other Yuma County high school football news, the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks traveled to Salinas, Calif. last week. The game against Palma, a Catholic all boys school, was called the Salad Bowl.
That's fitting as Yuma and Salinas play such a vital role in agriculture. Some ag companies have offices in both cities and both farmworkers and farm owners live in either region depending on the ag season.
As for the game, Yuma Catholic shut out the Chieftains 14-0.
The Monterey Herald reports the two Catholic-school powers agreed to a two-year deal, with Palma making the trip to Yuma next year.
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In other local sports news, the Arizona Western College Matadors baseball team will play an exhibition game tonight against Los Cañeros de Los Mochis, a Mexican Pacific League team based in Los Mochis, Sinaloa in Mexico.
The game will take place at 7 p.m. at Joe Orduño Park in San Luis, Ariz. Tickets for adults 18+ are $5. Free admission for children.
