‘He’s unstoppable’: Sanders helps Maize stay unbeaten in dramatic win over Maize South
.JPG "Maize’s Josh Sanders")
He had just spent the previous two hours juking, spinning and sprinting his way to 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns, not celebrating even once.
But when Friday’s wild game — 38 combined points and five lead changes in the final seven minutes — was over, and Maize had secured a dramatic 42-38 victory over rival Maize South to remain undefeated, Josh Sanders let his emotions flow.
The Maize senior running back began to cry tears of happiness.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Sanders said. “It was so emotional for me because we work our butts off. When we stay disciplined, stuff like this happens. And that instant reward in a big-game rivalry like this, man, it feels so great.”
Sanders showed no reaction after supplying the game’s most electrifying play, a 64-yard touchdown run where he showcased his ability to change direction so fast that he left multiple defenders grasping at air.
He was also stoic after he returned a kick-off 70 yards to give Maize a fourth-quarter lead. Not even scoring the game-winning touchdown, when he used his devastating spin move to score from 16 yards out with 57 seconds remaining, could get a celebration out of Sanders.
How can you account for 220 yards (198 rushing) of offense, score four touchdowns and help beat your biggest rival for the third straight year and not celebrate even once?
“In my mind, there’s nothing to celebrate about,” Sanders said. “We should expect it every single time. We don’t need to get outside of ourselves. We should be used it. Nothing to be super surprised about, just hand the ball to the ref and keep going.”
Sanders wasn’t bragging, rather providing an insight into how laser-focused his mind is when he plays football.
Maize senior offensive lineman Nate Harding said that Sanders is the “nicest, most humble” player on the team. Since Sanders doesn’t like to talk much about his ability, his teammates are more than happy to fill the role.
“He’s unstoppable,” said Harding, who provides the blocking lanes for Sanders along with Todd Stover, Mitchael Casement, Nick Reyes and Brandon Kerr. “He never gets tackled by the first dude. He always makes the first guy miss. And he runs so hard. He is the hardest runner I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Watching him run is like playing Madden,” Maize senior receiver Jacob Hanna said. “The guy is out there making video-game plays basically every time he touches the ball. It’s insane.”
Maize faced a 14-point deficit in the first half, thanks to a pair of touchdown grabs by Maize South receiver Jake Johnson, who finished with 14 catches for 156 yards. It wasn’t until Sanders’ dazzling 64-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter that Maize erased the deficit to tie the game at 21.
The frantic finish began innocently, as Sam Parks drilled a 27-yard field goal with 6:46 remaining to put Maize South ahead 24-21.
Then craziness ensued when Maize South tried a squib kick that backfired, ending in Sanders returning it 70 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. The Maize sideline was still in a frenzy when moments later, Maize South’s Byron Fitchpatrick took the very next kick-off 87 yards down the left sideline for a go-ahead touchdown.
“If you love football, that was a lot of fun to watch,” Maize South coach Brent Pfeifer said.
“Your emotions are so high for a few seconds and then in a matter of seconds, they’re way down low,” Maize coach Gary Guzman said.
Sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson put Maize back in front, 35-31, when he scored a three-yard touchdown with 3:44 to play.
And Maize South thought it had the game won when it used two timeouts to set up a 4th-and-4 conversion close to the goal line, then scored on a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Colin Shields (290 passing yards) to take a 38-35 lead with 1:23 remaining.
But the thought of kicking deep to Sanders led Maize South to attempt a short kick that gave Maize starting position near midfield. After a long pass from Johnson to Hanna, Maize scored on its second play — a scoring drive that took all of 26 seconds — when Sanders twirled past a defender near the line of scrimmage, then plowed over another on his way to the end zone from 16 yards out with 57 seconds left.
Maize South’s final drive never crossed its own 30-yard line. The Mavericks (3-2) have lost two games by a combined five points.
“I think I just need to sit down and relax a little bit,” Guzman said after it was all over. “This was a very emotional game. Being down 21-10 at half and being able to come back, our guys battled and never gave up. I’m very proud of my team and how they persevered and did what they had to do.”
In order to defeat Maize South for the third straight season, Maize needed a special performance from Sanders in the closest game of its 6-0 start.
Sanders, listed at just 5-foot-5 and 168 pounds, once again delivered on a big stage and increased his season production after Friday to 932 rushing yards with an 8.2 yard-per-carry average and 19 total touchdowns.
“Colleges should be paying attention to that kid because he’s got what it takes to play at the next level,” Pfeifer said. “Josh is one of the better backs in the state and we’ve thought that the last couple of years. He’s a special talent.”
Maize (6-0) | 0 | 10 | 11 | 21 | — | 42 |
Maize South (3-2) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 17 | — | 38 |
MS—Johnson 3 pass from Shields (Parks kick)
M—Sanders 1 run (Segraves kick)
MS—Johnson 41 pass from Shields (Parks kick)
MS—Shields 5 run (Parks kick)
M—Segraves 38 field goal
M—Segraves 27 field goal
M—Sanders 64 run (Adams pass from Sanders)
MS—Parks 27 field goal
M—Sanders 70 kick return (Segraves kick)
MS—Fitzpatrick 87 kick return (Parks kick)
M—Johnson 3 run (Segraves kick)
MS—Shields 3 run (Parks kick)
M—Sanders 16 run (Segraves kick)
Rushing—Maize, Sanders 22-198, Johnson 12-30; Maize South, Cantu 29-196, Fitzpatrick 2-21, Shields 7-7, Johnson 1-5.
Passing—Maize, Johnson 11-24-0-130; Maize South, Shields 28-38-1-290.
Receiving—Maize, Hanna 8-93, Sanders 1-22, Crockett 2-15; Maize South, Johnson 14-156, Cantu 3-32, Fitzpatrick 4-30, Crumm 3-23, Bailey 1-16, Snow 1-7.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 1:44 AM.
.jpg)