AJ Peterson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Preparatory for AZPreps365.com

On Friday, the Seton Catholic Sentinels traveled to Barry Goldwater High School to face the Bulldogs on the football field. The Sentinels came into the game with a 2-1 record, while the Bulldogs had started their season with three consecutive losses. 

Despite their record, Goldwater got the best of Seton, winning by a score of 20-13. The Bulldogs were led by the play of senior quarterback and defensive back Jesse Martinez, who had one touchdown pass on offense as well as two interceptions on defense.

Aside from his sole touchdown pass, Martinez did most of his damage on the ground in the numerous triple option sets that the Bulldogs showcased.

"It's hard to find the ball," Seton head coach Pete Wahlheim said of the triple option. "If you're not disciplined and read your keys, read your linemen, you're gonna be fooled." 

One area of the game that the Sentinels struggled with was penalties. Time and time again, big offensive plays were called back due to holding calls, stops on defense were voided due to offsides penalties, etc. 

“The lack of discipline, the penalties, lining up wrong, burning timeouts, not having the right personnel on the field...that’s on me,” Wahlheim said. 

The Sentinels started the game hot on offense, with quarterback Jake Morris showing off his arm by completing a 40-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Isaiah Kubasak on the second play from scrimmage. However, Goldwater’s defense forced the Sentinels to punt on the ensuing set of downs. 

Martinez flashed some skills of his own following the punt. Martinez had a 37-yard scramble that put Goldwater on Seton’s 34-yard line. A few plays later, sophomore running back Markhi McKinnon took the direct snap on the 1-yard line and muscled his way into the endzone, putting the Bulldogs up 7-0 following the successful PAT by junior kicker Angel Garcia.

The first quarter wrapped up with the Bulldogs leading the Sentinels 7-0. To open up the second quarter, the two teams traded multiple empty possessions resulting in punts. 

The Bulldogs found themselves backed up to their own endzone following a beautiful punt by senior wide receiver/punter Mikey Williamson. On third and long, senior running back Yandell Wynn broke a 58-yard run for the Bulldogs down to Seton’s 35-yard line. The Sentinel defense was able to hold Goldwater to a field goal by Garcia, holding the Bulldog lead to 10-0. 

On the ensuing kickoff, the Sentinels finally got the spark they were looking for. Castro took the kick, faked a reverse handoff to the other return man, and sped past Seton’s bench all the way to the house for a 95-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, putting the score at 10-6 in favor of Goldwater. 

“I knew it was going to be a touchdown as soon as I got the ball,” Castro said, adding that the Sentinels have often been successful when running that play on kickoffs. 

For the second straight possession, Seton kept Goldwater out of the endzone, forcing the Bulldogs to kick another field goal. Garcia’s kick sailed straight through the uprights as time expired, extending Goldwater’s lead to 13-6 as the teams headed toward their respective locker rooms. 

On the opening drive in the second half, the Sentinels forced a fourth down with 10 yards to go. This time, the Bulldogs elected to forego the field goal attempt and go for it. Seton put pressure on the quarterback, but Martinez avoided the rush and fired deep to senior wide receiver Smith Jones for a 35-yard touchdown, putting Goldwater up 20-6 following the extra point. 

After being forced to punt, the Sentinel defense again found themselves in a key spot. This time, they came through. On the first play of the Bulldogs’ possession, Seton brought the pressure and stripped Martinez of the ball, which was then recovered by junior linebacker Quinn Sullivan. Linebackers coach Ashton Dana could be seen celebrating with the defense, jumping around and giving high-fives all around.

“I’m just the hype man,” Dana said. 

Now on Goldwater’s 25, Seton had their best chance of scoring on offense. Morris again found Kubasak, this time for a 20-yard completion down to the 1-yard line. Castro punched it into the endzone, making it a one-score game after the extra point made it 20-13. 

After forcing a three-and-out, the Sentinels put together a good drive at the start of the fourth quarter, marching into Bulldog territory. On a critical third down just outside of field goal range, Morris threw for the endzone and was intercepted by Martinez.

Now on offense, the Bulldogs continued to run the triple option in an attempt to wind the clock down in the fourth quarter. The Sentinel defense held their own once again, forcing another field goal attempt. This time, the kick sailed wide right, giving Seton a shot to drive down the field and score with under two minutes to play. 

The Sentinel offense drove down the field into Bulldog territory, making things interesting down the stretch. However, Martinez came up big for Goldwater once again, intercepting one of Morris’ passes over the middle of the field. Martinez and the Bulldogs could now kneel down and wind the rest of the clock down, closing out the 20-13 victory. 

“Our team is very very good, and we should be 4-0, but until we get out of our own way, it’s going to continue to happen,” Wahlheim said of the mistakes. “I gotta do a better job of getting them ready.”

Goldwater (1-3) next travels to Desert Mountain in its first region game Friday, Oct. 8 against the Wolves. Seton (2-2) looks to regroup and prepare for their next matchup, also on Oct. 8, against the Glendale Cardinals (4-1) who have won their last four games. 

“Next week we’re gonna come back [and] practice better,” Castro said. “We’ll be alright.”