Turnovers Doom Mesa Football in 38-22 Loss at Scottsdale

Scottsdale, AZ - The Mesa Thunderbirds football team lost Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Scottsdale Artichokes, 38-22.

A turnover and penalty filled game, Mesa alone surrendered the ball to the Artichokes five times, with Mesa also having a punt blocked, field goal blocked, one missed field goal and one missed PAT.  On the other side of those miscues, Scottsdale seem to turn those next possessions into points.

It looked like a different story in the beginning though, as Mesa scored the first ten points of the game.  With a touchdown 60 yard catch and run by wideout Trevor Russell and a 30 yard field goal by Aaron Aros, Mesa looked prime for a solid afternoon.  Scottsdale however scored the next 17 points to make it a 17-10 contest.

The T-Birds were able to punch in a touchdown run from seven yards out just before half on a tough run from Rashad Williams but a missed PAT made it a 17-16 game.

In the third, Scottsdale scored on a 15 yard touchdown pass, a possession which started from a Mesa turnover, making it a 24-16 game.  But with 9:37 to play in the third, Worrell connected with Tylon Patterson for a nine yard catch and run touchdown, making a 24-22 affair, with the T-Birds failing to get the two-point conversion.

On Mesa's next possession, the Artichokes received good field position when they blocked a punt, resulting in an 11 yard Scottsdale touchdown run, pushing the Choke lead to 31-22.  Scottsdale would score the final points of the game in the fourth quarter to solidify its 38-22 win.

Mesa has now lost its last four games and falls to 3-5.  They will finish the season next Saturday night at 7 pm against the Phoenix College Bears.