The Sedona Mighty Mites football team had its season come to an end Saturday, Oct. 22, losing to the No. 2-seeded Chino Valley Cougars, 39-0.

“They showed signs of real good play; it was just consistency throughout the game that hurt us. If we had a few more substitutes that can come in and help, we would be better off,” Stingers Head Coach Ruben Sandoval said.

Sedona has a 12-man roster, all of whom were there Saturday in Chino Valley. It was the first time all season the Stingers had a full squad. Generally, they had nine or 10 players on the field instead of 11.

“Considering playing with 12 on the roster, and sometimes playing games with 10 kids on the field, we did pretty well,” Sandoval said.

It was the third shutout loss of the season for the Stingers who finished 2011 with a 2-6 overall record. Sedona recorded wins against the Camp Verde Coyotes on Aug. 27, 12-0, and the Cottonwood Marauders on Sept. 17, 40-13.

A 2-6 record doesn’t show how good a season the Stingers had this fall, with several players improving dramatically in their first year in pads.

“Our growth was phenomenal. These kids were just being introduced to the physical aspects of the game. It was completely new to many of them. What they did was tremendous,” Sandoval said.

Young 8-year-olds like running back Robby Sheehan, safety Jack Rodarte, tackle Tristine Levy, tight end Xavier Stimple and quarterback Micha Johnson improved in 2011, and football fans in Sedona could see them in purple and silver one day.

For the first time in Red Rock Youth Football history, the program sent a Mighty Mites team to the playoffs. Although a 39-0 loss is pretty rough, Sandoval appreciated his team’s effort.

“They did a good job and played hard,” he said.