PRESCOTT — Quarterback Tyson Buckley threw six touchdown passes, Christian Sanabria caught two scores and had a punt return for a touchdown, and Camp Verde cruised to a 62-6 win over Kingman Academy on Friday night.

It is the second straight win for the Cowboys (4-2, 3-0 2A Agua Fria), which lost two of their first four games to open 2023 against potential Top 5 opponents in 2A football, Scottsdale Christian (Aug. 25, 54-34 loss) and Arizona Lutheran (Sept. 8, 56-36 loss).

Arizona Lutheran was 5-5 last year in 3A ball, while Scottsdale Christian lost to No. 2 seeded Morenci 71-40 in the 2A state semifinals last November.

The inaugural 2A state power point rankings are scheduled to debut Tuesday, Sept. 26, at noon.

HOW THEY SCORED

Buckley threw an interception in Camp Verde’s first possession, but it was his only blemish of the night as the 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior quickly rebounded with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Xander Turnbell to open the game’s scoring at the 8:11 mark in the first quarter.

After Sanabria’s 60-yard punt return for a touchdown that made it 14-0, Buckley found Jordan Williams on a 53-yard toss, then hooked up with Sanabria on a 17-yard strike and suddenly it was 28-0 with 10:34 to play in the second quarter.

“We came out and dominated like we thought we would,” Buckley said. “We started out with a three-game stretch that we knew was going to be really tough, but we knew we had to come into region play and be perfect, and we’re on our way through that.”

The lone score from the Tigers’ offense came with 2:40 to go in the second quarter as quarterback Casen Short found Mason Anderson on a short pass, then Anderson sprinted down the field for an 82-yard score.

Sanabria and Williams would each catch another score from Buckley, however, as the Cowboys were up 49-6 at halftime and Kingman Academy (2-4, 1-1 2A Agua Fria) would never recover.

“I think it was a really important win,” Sanabria said about Friday night’s victory over the Tigers. “Each game when we dominate like this, it brings us closer together. Especially with it being a regional game and putting up points like that. It’s a great win all around. The team is bonding really well, practices are going well and it’s allowing us to get closer and closer.”

Camp Verde head coach Aaron Gronwald said Friday night’s win was exactly what he was looking for, adding that if the Cowboys want to get deep into November this season, games against teams like Kingman Academy are where they continue to lay the foundation, brick by brick.

“This is a team that if we want to be at that highest level and get to that point in the playoffs, beyond last year, this is the type of team that you have to put down and keep out,” Gronwald said. “We know there’s going to be stuff on film we have to fix like there is every week, but that’s where we come back and try and add another brick.”

After Camp Verde surrendered 54 points to Scottsdale Christian in Week 2, and 56 more to Arizona Lutheran in Week 4, Gronwald has been focused on making sure his defense continues to improve every game.

“They’re (up front) doing a better job squeezing, they are doing a better job getting their reads, reading their guards. We brought in a new defensive line coach this year, so we’ve been working on that every week,” Gronwald said. “You clearly saw they did a really good job of it tonight. But again, the next four weeks we need to build on that. It’s not going to be good enough until we are where we want to be.”

NOTABLE STATS

Buckley now has 25 passing touchdowns this season, giving him 63 for his career at Camp Verde after throwing 44 in 2022.

Sanabria came into Friday night’s game with 107 catches for 1,926 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns, and has now likely surpassed 2,000 receiving yards in his career.

UP NEXT

The Cowboys face three straight 2A Agua Fria region opponents over the next few weeks, including Sept. 29 on the road against Phoenix Christian (4-1, 2-0 2A Agua Fria) and Cortez (4-1, 1-0 2A Agua Fria) at home Oct. 6.

After a bye week, Camp Verde travels to Highland Prep. to wrap up regional action, then face Bisbee at home Oct. 27 to end the regular season.

Kickoff at Phoenix Christian next week is set for 7 p.m.

As for the Tigers, they’ll try to rebound from a four-game losing streak at home against Glendale Prep. on Friday, Sept. 29. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.