Glendale crushes hopes for a final victory
Steve Emmick
Mesa Legend

Chinh Chi Pham Mesa Legend

Jason Woody reaches out for an attempted tackle of a GCC player.

MCC’s football team ended its season Nov. 15 in bad form when the Gauchos of Glendale showcased the reason for their winning record as they beat the Thunderbirds 42-7. The game as Glendale Community College handed Mesa its third straight loss.
The game started at 7:00 p.m. mark as the brisk night air invited the players onto the field for the final game of the season.
Mesa started the game fueled by an early touchdown that gave them some momentum. Only three plays later, Glendale answered back, putting seven points on the board.
Glendale’s defense permeated through the Thunderbird’s offensive front line. Third-string quarterback Rami Burbar constantly scrambled left and right to avoid getting sacked.
The first quarter ended with the score 7-7.
At the beginning of the second quarter, an injured defensive lineman for Mesa was forced to leave the game. No red-zone threats were established by MCC during the second quarter.
Mesa failed to put any points on the board in the second quarter and allowed the Gauchos to rack up 21 points, finishing with a 28-7 score at halftime.
“We’re going to try to make it through the night the best we can,” said a sidelined Nick Webber at halftime whose pulled hamstring during the game against Pima kept him benched for the rest of the season. “Glendale is an awesome team, but we’re playing with a few key injuries,” Webber added. “The major injuries are to our quarterbacks. We lost our first- and second-string quarterbacks in the same game. Our first-string quarterback was done for the season because he separated his shoulder. Our second-string quarterback tore his ACL in the same game. So when your quarterback is your leader and we’re on our third, it’s tough.”
Mesa marched onto the field for the second half with a look of determination to advance their score, but an early third quarter fumble by Mesa lead to a pass play touchdown by Glendale, increasing their lead to 35-7.
Glendale’s relentless offense ran a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to increase the score one last time. Mesa nearly struck back as they moved down the field in the last few minutes of the game with hopes for one last-minute drive, but their pass was intercepted in the end zone. The game drew to a close with a final score of Glendale 42, Mesa 7.
Head coach Dan Dunn was reluctant to answer any questions after the game. Dunn indicated that there was not a major weakness on Mesa’s part. “It wasn’t us; it was them. They have an excellent organization and a fantastic team. We’ll be back next season,” he said.

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