Riding high: Thunderbirds football extends streak to Six

Emilio Alcraz
Mesa Legend

football players
Tania Ritko/Mesa Legend

It’s been a memorable 6 weeks for our Mesa CC football, as a pronounced victory over Glendale, this weekend boosted our Thunderbirds to a fantastic 6-1 record.  It was no slouchy win either, as the T-Birds dominated Glendale Community College, by a score of 48-14.  Mesa started off quick and never looked back, as Darius Aguirre took the first punt of the game back 65 yards for a score.  Following a Mesa interception from Marqoun Claiborne, quarterback Rathen Ricedorff linked up with Dionte Sykes for a quick 15-yard touchdown pass, and the game was quickly out of reach for the Glendale Gauchos.

By halftime, the score was 34-7, and the Thunderbirds looked as unbeatable as ever.
It was an offensive and defensive showcase, a theme that has persisted for this team over the course of this impressive season. The team, now ranked sixth in the country, heads into their well-earned bye week in a perfect position, with a 4-0 record within their conference and rival Scottsdale awaiting them in two weeks. Starting left tackle Isiah Moore has been responsible in large part for his team’s success, by anchoring an offensive line that’s provided a consistent and dominant success both through the air and on the ground.

Amidst all this success, Moore detailed his team’s approach towards remaining level-headed as a unit, “We’re just taking it one game at a time. Approaching every week with the mindset of achieving the goal of 1-0,” said Moore. That one game at a time approach has paid dividends for the Thunderbirds, as they’re riding an impressive 6 game win streak, the longest such streak in the storied history of Mesa Community College’s football team. The only blemish on their record came in Week 1, a heartbreaking 1-point defeat to Phoenix College.

“The team has come together as a brotherhood, all together,” said Moore when describing what he thought was the team’s reason for success. This team has had no problems playing as a cohesive unit, with an incredible weekly margin of victory of 20.4 points. Moore recognizes the importance of unity and togetherness on the field, and the results have been clear. Mesa will enjoy its bye week this coming weekend and prepare for their exciting rematch against the Scottsdale Artichokes on Saturday, October 29th.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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