Green Valley coach sees room for improvement after loss to Arizona school

By Paul Delos Santos

Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013 | 12:10 a.m.

Nobody ever envisions losing the season opener, let alone at home.

But buried underneath Green Valley’s 41-17 loss to Basha (Ariz.) comes a sense of self-understanding, and the Gators (0-1) learned plenty with the loss to the Chandler, Ariz., school.

“It lets us know where we’re at,” Green Valley coach Brian Castro said of the loss. “It was a worthy opponent for us. We have some good football players, and it’s up to us as coaches to get them ready for it. (Basha) let us know where we’re at, and what we need to improve on.”

Castro said the prolific offense showed flashes of its potential, but drives stalled at key times whether it was a penalty or some type of mental breakdown.

Junior quarterback Christian Lopez did less with his legs, opting to throw more. He threw 18-for-32 for 177 yards with two interceptions. He did run some, rushing for 20 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown that came in the third quarter.

Castro said the same on the defensive side.

The youthful side showed potential, but couldn’t shut down Basha’s offense in key spots.

“At times, we played well,” Castro said of his defense. “The big play is what hurt us tonight. We played well for two downs and have a breakdown. … They would convert a key third down.

“We have young kids playing out there, and they’re still trying to figure it out. It is what it is, and we’re going to get back to practice.”

Larry Norman scored the other touchdown for the Gators, and Conor Perkins added a field goal.

Paul Delos Santos can be reached at 990-2416 or mail to [email protected]. Follow Paul on Twitter at twitter.com/pauliedelos.