Eric SorensonBradshaw Mountain’s second trip to the Valley this month didn’t end quite as nice as the first.
After the 12th-seeded Bears upset Arcadia last week they had no answer for Sunnyslope’s ball-hawking defense falling 28-7 Friday night in the Division III quarterfinals.
The Vikings (11-1) opened the scoring midway through the second quarter when trusty senior running back Jeff Goebel found a crease through the middle and scored nearly untouched inside the BMHS red zone for a lead they’d never give up.
The Bears (8-4) put together a nice drive late in the second quarter but eventually stalled out deep in Sunnyslope territory. Adding insult to injury Matthew Tomayo hooked a 24-yard field goal wide left which would have cut into what was just a 7-0 deficit near halftime.
A pair of third quarter touchdowns stretched the lead to 21-0 and ended any hopes of Bradshaw pulling off their second playoff upset in as many weeks.
Goebel, who is closing in on 2,000 rushing yards this season, will have to be at his best next week in the semi-finals against top-seeded Paradise Valley (12-0) at North Canyon High School. The Trojans handed the Vikings their only loss of the season, an ugly 51-13 blowout at PV, back on September 11th.
