The Fountain Hills High School football team fell to Chino Valley 20-14 in the season opener last Friday night. The Falcons lost the turnover battle 8-4 and were not very effective in the pass game, but they rushed for 170 yards as a team.

“You always want to establish a run game,” first-year head coach Sean Moran said. “First week, if you can establish a run game, you’re setting a tone for the season. Sometimes we have to spend a lot of time on one thing, and that sometimes hurts another facet of our game. We were all hands on deck on the offensive line this week.”

Senior Gavin Furi was the leading rusher and averaged 5.9 yards per carry against the Cougars. Furi broke three tackles on the first offensive play for the Falcons and ran in a 20-yard touchdown to lead 6-0 less than two minutes into the game.

In their scrimmage against Shadow Mountain the week prior, both Furi and Moran said they averaged less than three yards per rush as a team. Moran said that junior center Nate Barnard kept the other linemen in order, and he was proud of the line and the running backs for doubling their running efficiency in one week’s time.

The Falcons started strong and forced a fumble on the first third down pass play of the game. Sophomore Sam Barnard forced the fumble, and senior Diesel Giger recovered to set up Furi’s touchdown. On the next defensive position, Barnard and Giger recreated the exact same play, but the officials ruled the Chino Valley player down before the ball came out.

“We were just containing the outside,” Giger said. “We weren’t letting them get up the sideline. We were hitting hard and hitting low. We were gang tackling and had 11 hats to the ball on that first drive.”

Halfway through the first quarter, the Falcons had their own turnover. Furi dropped the ball, and the Cougars took over on the Fountain Hills 41 yard line. The Cougars ran three times and then completed a touchdown pass in the left corner of the endzone. Chino Valley missed the extra point, and the game was tied at 6-6 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons faced their first significant injury on their next possession. After a three and out, senior Nico Cini was blitzed and tackled before he could punt the ball away. The Cougars recovered the fumble on the Fountain Hills 22 yard line, and Moran expects Cini to return after several weeks.

The Falcons were forced to try on several fourth-down conversions that otherwise would’ve been field goal attempts, and Chino Valley was able to capitalize on field positioning to lead 14-6 by the end of the first.

“We turned it over twice and put them in position,” Moran said. “I think the mindset of this team is that we claw and we scratch at every single thing. We never give up and they’ve bought into that attitude. I think that was pretty evident on Friday night. Not all losses are created equal in my book.”

The Falcons responded in the second quarter by driving to redzone and chewing up half the quarter with run plays. The Falcons reached a fourth down and short situation on the 15 yard line, but Furi failed to convert.

The Falcons forced a three and out defensively, and then Furi cut back for a 12-yard run. Senior Ryan Dyhrkopp followed with his own nine-yard run, and then sophomore quarterback Jack Boersma was sacked and fumbled on the Fountain Hills 40 yard line.

The Falcons were able to stop the Cougars from scoring again before halftime. The Falcons didn’t stop them on the first fourth down try, but Barnard sacked the Chino Valley quarterback with less than a minute in the half to take them out of field goal range. The Falcons stopped the next fourth down try and went into halftime down 14-6.

Moran said that turnovers hadn’t been an issue in training camp, but Friday was the first time many of the athletes played in wet conditions this year. After halftime, the Falcons threw the ball a little more, but still had some turnover issues that Moran said will be addressed moving forward.

Boersma started the second half with a five-yard pass to sophomore Aidan Cronican, and then he connected with Sam Barnard for a 42-yard catch. Barnard turned around to catch the ball, then ducked under a defender and spun away to get more yards after the catch. Furi fumbled on the next play but got 22 yards on a fourth down conversion on the next offensive series.

After Furi’s conversion, the Falcons made their third trip to the redzone. They only got four yards when they needed six on the next fourth down try, and the Falcons turned the ball over on their 10 yard line with one second left in the third quarter.

The Falcons’ defense forced another three and out, and then junior Canon Lipps returned a punt for a touchdown. Lipps was not the intended return man but caught a low punt and ran in the 15-yard touchdown. Furi converted the two-point conversion and tied the game 14-14 with 10:56 left to play.

“As we were lining up to catch the punt, I was just ready to get some nice blocks in,” Lipps said. “Next thing I know, the ball is coming at me like a bullet. I see a shadow of some guy behind me so I’m like, ‘I have to get in the endzone,’ and stuck the ball out to get in there.”

Chino Valley scored again in a matter of minutes, and the Falcons were unable to tie it up again. Senior Eddie Galvan injured his hand on a kickoff return to midfield and is expected to be ready this upcoming week. Galvan was unable to help as a receiver or edge setter in the final minutes, however.

After the kickoff return, the Falcons reached the redzone again, but Boersma was sacked and fumbled. In the final minute of the game, Boersma threw an interception that sealed Chino Valley’s victory.

Boersma made his first varsity start at quarterback on Friday, and last year’s quarterback, senior Spencer Nelson, played defense the whole game. Moran said that it was a coach’s decision, and that he usually keeps that kind of stuff between him and his quarterbacks.

“It’s important that we develop as many players on this team as possible,” Moran said. “No championships were won or lost in the first game. We have to make sure that we’re getting guys out there, getting guys experience.”

By the end of the game, Cronican, Galvan, Cini and senior Jaron Rosario were injured and not cleared to return. Cronican and Galvan are expected to return next week, as is senior Casey Osborne, who missed the opener with a shoulder injury. Moran felt the Falcons’ defense took a step back late in the game due to injuries and exhaustion, but Moran was confident that the bench players understood the game plan. The next thing to improve is getting everyone used to playing and tackling at full game speed.

Moran’s first football game as a head coach will be very memorable. Within hours of getting home after the game, his wife was induced and gave birth to their child. Moran did not sleep well and wasn’t able to watch much film over the weekend, but he was excited to see the Falcons embrace his schemes and attitude toward football. He's excited to continue teaching them offensive plays, and the Falcons will continue to work on discipline and conditioning ahead of their next game this Friday, Aug. 26. The Falcons will travel to Dysart High School in El Mirage for a 7 p.m. kickoff.