The Cherokee Indians were game competitors in last Friday nights’ intracounty contest against the back-to-back State Champion Richland Springs Coyotes, but the odds weren’t in their favor. The Coyotes won the coin flip and put all their money on chance,... Chance Bush, that is. Chance cashed in on 6 running touchdowns and 2 more via the airways to account for all but one of the Coyotes’ total touchdowns. Lady Luck was not smiling on the Indians this night....halftime, game over, another mercy rule victory, for the 3-0 2012 Coyotes. Chance (Dude) Bush scored on slashing runs of 12, 3, 35, 34, 8 and 15 yards and threw touchdown passes of 31 and 8 yards. Freshman standout Brian Salinas parlayed a 6 yard run, and a 31 yard catch into 12 points, and reliable Senior Patrick Phillips snagged a Bush pass for 8 yards and another score. A more relaxed Trevor Tinney, added 16 valuable points, successfully kicking 8 of 9 PAT attempts. Offensive Coordinator Shawn Rogers claims no kismet or karma for the offenses’ good fortune, just good old fashioned blocking, execution and hard running. Of course, with a runner like Bush, not much is left to chance. Defensively, Brian Salinas had an outstanding game, and led the team in tackles with 6, but 4 were solo tackles and for huge losses. Chance Bush had 5.5 tackles with 1.5 coming behind the enemy line for losses. All-State defenseman Gunner Mann didn’t need any breaks to record 5 tackles (4 solo) 2.5 of which accounted for more losses for the Indians. Chris Munoz badgered the Indian QB all night and recorded 3 tackles including 1 sack and 2 for losses. Patrick Phillips and Thomas Fowler both had 2 solo tackles each and patrolled the outfield defending the Indians 32 pass attempts. Ty Manns’ speed rushes earned him 2 tackles, one solo and one assist. Stanley Buttlers’ kamikaze blitzes on special teams wreaked havoc against the Indians and earned him 3 bone-jarring solo tackles. Jonathan Patino efficiently handled some of the snapping chores and kept the Indians pinned with deep kickoffs. The Coyotes’ defense held the Indians to 67 total yards gained on 45 plays, about 1.5 yards per attempt. The ball is pointed, and occasionally luck plays a huge role in some close games, just not last Friday night. Head Coach Jerry Burkhart places his bets on hard work and immaculate preparation, not happenstance, to run his winning streak to 33 straight victories. The #1 ranked Coyotes will host the 1-2 Tigers of Gustine at home this week at 7:30 on Friday night. I’ve got one question for the Tigers.... “Do you feel lucky”.... “Well,... do ya?.....Go Coyotes Go !!!!