Sometimes a win is good enough.
For Tucson High School, that was the case Friday night in its 14- 7 victory over Palo Verde.
Led by a stingy defense and Tamarcus Horton's 132 yards on 19 carries, the Badgers avenged a 27-0 loss in 2002.
"Last year Palo Verde got us," Horton said. "But this game was for the seniors."
The Titans scored first after Joe Devos recovered a fumble deep in Badger territory. Halfback Perry Phininzy scored from 2 yards with 3:37 to go in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
It looked like things would continue to roll for Palo Verde when Phininzy recovered another fumble on Tucson's first play following the kickoff.
But the Badger defense responded when Roy Burr came up with an 11- yard sack.
"The defense played great, and our defensive coordinator Bob Ingram also did a great job," Tucson coach Jeff Green said.
The Badgers opened the second quarter by recovering a fumble.
With the ball on their 28-yard line and 11:25 to go in the half, Tucson engineered a drive that put the Badgers in the lead for good.
Cris Tapia connected on a pair of passes, including one for 37 yards to Carlos Rodriguez.
Horton followed that play with a 28-yard run to the Palo Verde 1- yard line. Tapia capped the drive with a 1-yard run.
The snap on the extra-point kick was low and holder Josh Tapia took the ball, rolled to his right and completed a pass to Eric Coleman for a two-point conversion.
The score remained 8-7 late into the third quarter as both teams refused to budge on defense.
The one exception came late in the third quarter.
Following an interception by Rodriguez, Horton broke free again for a 40-yard run to the Palo Verde 3.
Running back Jerry Roche followed that up with a touchdown, and after a blocked extra point, Tucson had a 14-7 lead with 2:30 left in the third.
"Our defense won this game," Horton said. "If it wasn't for them, we probably would have lost."
Late attempts by the Titans to tie the game came up short.
"It wasn't pretty," Green said. "But a win is a win."
The Badgers finished with 185 yards on the ground, while Tapia completed 7 of 15 passes attempts for 101 yards.
Palo Verde responded with 57 rushing yards each from Jay Fimbres and Phininzy.
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