GILBERT — Special teams break downs and turnovers put the Tigers in a hole they couldn’t find a way out.

Telesis quarterback Cody Kramer stiff arms the Desert Hills defense during an 80-yard touchdown run that was ultimately nullified by a penalty. The Tigers lost the first round playoff game in Gilbert Friday, 46-8. David Bell/News-Herald Photo.

Telesis lost to Gilbert Desert Hills 46-8 in the first round of the Arizona Charter Athletic Association Class B football playoffs, ending the Tigers’ season.

Telesis scored on the opening drive of the game, an 80-yard drive that included an 11-yard pass from quarterback Cody Kramer to Travis Standal and a 12-yard run by Kramer that both gained critical first downs. The drive was capped by a 3-yard run by Ernie Celon and Kramer ran it in for the 2-point conversion.

But that was when the wheels fell off for the Tigers. Desert Hills’ Ricky Sandoval scored the first of his three touchdowns in the game, a 95-yard touchdown run on the kick. The 2-point conversion was good to tie the game.

It looked like it might be a shootout when, on Telesis’ next possession, Kramer scampered 80 yards for the score but the play was canceled by a penalty and the Tigers were forced to punt.

That’s when Sandoval scored his second TD of the day, 30-yard run back on the punt for the score. The 2-point conversion was good and the Cougars took a lead they would never relinquish.

On the next possession, the Tigers put the ball on the ground, giving the Cougars their first try on offense at the Telesis 11-yard-line. It took just three plays for Jose Quintana to run it in for the score.

Telesis managed to put together a solid drive and got the ball down to the Desert Hills 3-yard-line when the dropsies hit again. A snap went over the head of Kramer and the Cougars recovered.

This time the ball bounced the Tigers’ way, when Jimmy Hill stripped the ball carrier and Standal recovered. But it was as the horn ending the half sounded so Telesis never had a chance to capitalize.

As the second half started, the Cougars continued to dominate, scoring on their next three possessions, one coming off a Sandoval interception and his third TD of the game.

The only bright spot for the Tigers was Hill. In addition to the strip that led to a turnover, Hill had two sacks and six solo tackles in the game.

“We were down out there and I thought maybe if they (his teammates) saw me step up that would get them up too,” Hill said.

The loss gives Telesis a 4-5 record for the year.

The Tigers were hurt before the game ever started, when linebacker Nathaniel Merrill was forced to sit after turning his ankle before the team got on the bus.

“We had too many off-field distractions. Everything was great until this morning,” Telesis head coach Landon Merrill said.

The Tigers will also lose a number of players, more than half of the players on the field Friday graduate this year. Merrill said the result will be a new look Tigers in 2010.

“Next year will be about speed,” Merrill said. “We’ll be light on the line but fast on the outside.”

You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com.