Diamondbacks rush to victory

EL DORADO — Sean Tow's career-best 414 yards rushing on 18 carries with four touchdowns lifted host Union Mine over Galt 40-14 in Friday's Sierra Valley Conference matchup.

Tow was a one-man wrecking crew in the second quarter as the junior running back had touchdown runs of 38 and 59 yards, followed by an electrifying 95-yard scoring run to close the first half to put the Diamondbacks ahead 34-0. In the first two quarters, Tow ran for a staggering 320 yards.

Union Mine came in looking to rebound after a tough 39-38 setback to Liberty Ranch two weeks ago. With their bye week behind them, the D'backs treated their homecoming crowd to a big win thanks to Tow, the defense and quarterback Graham Bennett who threw two touchdown passes.

“Our team is young and still learning. We sometimes make mistakes and focus on those mistakes instead of just moving on to the next snap and playing hard. Tonight we maintained our focus after some early struggles and that gave our team the chance to play well and take over the game," Tow said.

The Warriors kept it close early. While Union Mine's offense looked to establish its rhythm, the defense, led by Chris Vasquez, Shane O’Leary, Oscar Rodriquez, Scott McIntyre and a host of other D'backs, supplied the pressure to keep Galt in check.

“Our biggest thing this evening was being focused. When we are focused we are a really good football team. This was great to win tonight,” Vasquez said

Once Union Mine got rolling, the D'backs resembled a freight train the visitors had no way of stopping. After Tow's 59-yard scamper put Union Mine up 14-0, the D'backs dominated from there. On the hosts' next series, Bennett found a wide-open Teixiera in the right flat for a 15-yard touchdown and a 21-0 advantage. Bennett also fired a 30-yard scoring strike to O’Leary to give the D'backs a 27-0 lead late in the first half.

“Tonight we came together as a team and picked everyone up. Our schemes were great and our coaches put us in positions where we could make plays,” Union Mine linebacker Kona Teixiera said.

The D'backs weren't done in the initial, first 24 minutes as Tow took a hand-off at the Union Mine 5-yard line and raced 95 yards for a 34-0 halftime lead.

“With homecoming anything can happen. Tonight there were distractions but our team was able to get focused and played well," D'back coach Dave Johnson said. "Each week is going to be a tough game. Tonight was great as we got the win and now we just have to get ready for next week.”

Union Mine returns to the gridiron next Friday against El Dorado.