The march continues in February for the Yuma High School boys basketball team.
The Outlaws traveled to rival Wray this past Tuesday with a 14-1 record and ranked No. 3 in the CHSAA 3A Selection & Seeding Index. They are in The Pit on Friday to take on No. 10 Wiggins, then hit the road Tuesday to No. 2 Strasburg.
Yuma entered this week 5-0 in the 3A Patriot while Strasburg was 5-1 and Windsor Charter Academy 4-1.
Wiggins is just 2-4 in league play, but 11-5 overall.
“This is the best Wiggins has been in awhile, at least record-wise,” coach Dave Sheffield said. “That just heightens how dangerous a team can be.”
Frontier Academy also is just 2-5 in Patriot play, but the Wolverines pushed Yuma in a lively contest last Friday in The Pit.
“The Patriot is just strong everywhere,” Sheffield said. “It’s a grind.”
Frontier Academy’s boys subvarsity players and girls varsity comprised a rowdy student section when the boys varsity game began. It turned out to be an entertaining tilt.
The Wolverines took a 13-10 lead, but Yuma scored 10 straight and led 22-17 at the of the first quarter. The Outlaws led 28-19 when Frontier Academy closed the quarter on a 14-4 run for a 33-32 halftime lead.
The visitors opened a 41-34 lead in the third. However, David Covarrubias, Reyli Trejo, Alex Pensado and Jalen Rose sparked a 19-5 stretch to end the frame leading 53-46.
It got dramatic again in the fourth when Brody Sheffield, the target of the Frontier Academy’s cheering/jeering section throughout the game, fouled out with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left. Coach Sheffield also picked up a technical.
When that was all done, Yuma led just 60-57.
However, the rest of the Outlaws simply took over after that, pulling away to a 76-61 win.
“It was so great,” coach Sheffield said of the team rallying with their leader banished to the bench. “It showed stability. They did a really good job. I think it should (boost confidence). The more times in those situations, the better you’re going to get.”
Sheffield still finished with a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four steals and three blocks. Pensado had 17 points, five rebounds and five steals, Covarrubias 13 points and six rebounds, Trejo nine points and eight rebounds, Rose 10 points and two rebounds.
Frontier Academy’s 6-foot-8 Steward, who entertained the crowd with a series of dunks during the girls game halftime, finished with five points and three rebounds.
The Outlaws went to Wray on Tuesday for another county showdown. Yuma has dominated the series over the years, and Wray came into the game with five wins. However, the Eagles again gave Yuma all it could handle before the Outlaws finally prevailed 58-50.
Yuma led by 11 at halftime, but Wray cut it to a one-possession game at one point in a wild fourth quarter.
Yuma improved to 15-1, 6-0.
Sheffield had 23 points and six rebounds, Covarrubias nine points and seven rebounds, Trejo eight points and four rebounds, A. Pensado eight points and three steals, Rose five points, Noe Quezada three, and Jose Mario Ross two.