Comets getting ready for rare meeting: Banda, Salazar are too

Logan Frye dropped back on Saturday one last time in hopes of saving Sherrard’s football season.

Instead of glory, the Tigers’ quarterback was greeted by a familiar sight – two white jerseys with blue numbers of  51 and 52 quickly bearing down on him from both directions.

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Frye was sandwiched as Newman’s Shea Banda (51) and Carlos Salazar (52) converged on top of him.

Newman advanced to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs with a 9-6 upset win over Sherrard, in large part, thanks to the play of the two defensive tackles.

“I think we had to play with a lot of intensity,” Salazar said after the win.

“Our biggest goal for the second half was to make sure that the quarterback didn’t get much time to throw.”

Banda, Salazar and sophomore noseguard R.J. Troye dominated the line of scrimmage for much of the game first by shutting down the run.

“Their responsibility is the quarterback and fullback,” Newman coach Mike Papoccia said. “We thought Sherrard’s quarterback and fullback were both good runners, they just didn’t really have anywhere to go.”

The three combined for 23 tackles and 4 sacks in the win over Sherrard.

While Banda overpowers opposing lineman, Salazar uses his speed.

“What both of them bring is an immense amount of intensity,” Papoccia said. “Carlos is one of the quickest defensive lineman that we’ve had here.

“Shea just does it with raw power.”

Troye has filled the gap between the last couple games. The sophomore missed parts of the regular season battling the flu.

“Since he’s came back from being sick, he’s improved a little bit each week,” Papoccia said. “He’s turning into a real good player.”

The Comets will need strong line play as they match up with Oregon in the second round of the playoffs at 2 p.m. Saturday at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

“Oregon gets off the ball very fast,” Papoccia said. “They are a well-coached group and if were not ready at the snap, we’’ll be in trouble.

“They also line their backs up pretty close to the line, which just gets them into the holes a split second faster. We are going to have to react quickly.”