Cofers rally Coronado to win over Gators

Down by 14 early in the second quarter Thursday night, Coronado coach Brad Talich turned to Jackson Cofer looking for a spark.

Nothing against starting quarterback John Farella, but it was time for a change.

The switched worked, and Jackson’s brother Spencer finished off a big win against visiting Green Valley.

Spencer Cofer hit field goals of 48 and 41 yards in the final 13 minutes, and Jackson Cofer finished with 134 yards on 18 carries as the No. 9 Cougars stunned the No. 6 Gators, 25-21.

Green Valley did bring an impressive aerial show as quarterback Christian Lopez threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns. But after throwing for 252 yards and the three TDs in the opening half, Coronado kept the high-scoring Gators scoreless in the final two quarters.

“We knew they (Green Valley) would put up numbers,” Talich said. “The key was believing in what we’re doing, and the kids did that tonight. We’re young and we will make some mistakes, but it’s all about the effort, and we played hard tonight.”

Jansen Pollins’ 49-yard run in the second quarter trimmed Coronado’s deficit to 14-7. However, Lopez hit Kyler Chavez from 35 yards out with 5:22 left in the half and the Gators had a 21-7 cushion.

But the game belonged to the Cofers from there as Jackson Cofer scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and Spencer had the long field goals.

Pollins added 105 yards on 13 attempts for the Cougars. Coronado threw for only 41 yards, while Green Valley rolled up 507 yards of offense.

Markus Varner had 159 yards on 11 grabs for the Gators, while Conor Perkins added 111 on four catches.