SIERRA VISTA — Three years ago, Buena posted its first winning record in over a decade but narrowly missed a state playoff berth because of a weak schedule.

As a result, then head coach Mike Vezzosi sought out the toughest schedule he could find for the two-year block. Kent Holland inherited that schedule in his first season and after going 0-3 to start the season for the second straight year, the Colts won’t be looking to take on the likes of Chandler Basha, Mesa Dobson, or Friday night’s opponent Gilbert any time soon.

Gilbert scored on its first two possessions and never looked back, jumping on top 35-7 at the half and cruising to a 48-21 win.

“The East Valley is loaded with talent — they always are,” Holland said. “We’ve got a tough schedule. You want to play competitive teams but you want to be smart about who you play. You don’t want your team to suffer and limp into region play.”

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Next week, the Colts open region play, traveling to Tucson to take on Rincon, a team they defeated handily last season.

Gilbert scored on its second play from scrimmage as tailback Bret Crowe sidestepped a trio of Colts pursuing him in the backfield and ran 60 yards to paydirt.

Four minutes later, tailback Anthony McDaniel caught a perfectly executed screen pass and strutted 18 yards to the end zone on a third-and-15 play, and midway through the first quarter, Gilbert led 14-0.

What looked like a certain blowout became a tightly contested game for a time after Derek Lane fell on a Gilbert fumble at the Tigers’ 13. Back-to-back procedure penalties pushed the ball back to the 23 when Buena tailback Trey Brown squeezed between a pair of Tiger linebackers collapsing on him and sprang for a 23-yard touchdown run that made it 14-7 with 1:34 to go in the first quarter.

Gilbert went back up by two scores on a nine-yard TD run by fullback Trey Fulton.

Buena went three-and-out on its next possession, and when star punter Brandon Porter was roughed in his own end zone, the Colts held their breath as he lay on the field before being helped off unable to put pressure on his left (non-kicking) leg. He immediately had it iced and wrapped and Daniel Foster took over his punting duties.

“I don’t know how bad it is yet,” Holland said. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”

Adding insult to Porter’s injury, the Colts didn’t even get a first down because of the roughing penalty because an illegal procedure flag offset it and the down was replayed.

Angered by Porter’s injury, the Buena defense came out excited, recovering another Gilbert fumble, and after another punt, Dexter Ekwelundu sacked Gilbert quarterback Brandon Bialkowski for an 11-yard loss. But on the next play, McDaniel broke into the open and ran 48 yards to the Buena 8. On the next play, Crowe burst up the middle untouched to make it 28-7 with 4:06 left in the half.

Gilbert scored again before halftime and put up seven more on its first possession of the second half, prompting the Tiger coaching staff to pull most of its starters.

“In the first half we were out of sorts and lost some of our composure,” Holland said. “But the second half was the first time since I’ve been at Buena that a Buena team came out in the second half and did something. In the second half, our guys found out you can have fun and play football at the same time. That’s the kind of thing we’re trying to instill in them.”

Sophomore quarterback Jeremy Tuttle took over for senior Joe Wallace as signal caller in the second half, and completed 6-of-11 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. The first touchdown was a 40-yard catch and run to Deche Milburn who outraced the Tiger secondary to the pylon, making it 42-14 with 1:05 to play in the third quarter.

Tuttle, a former state Punt, Pass and Kick champion, kicked the point after in place of Porter, and with 4:09 remaining, he drove the Colts to another score.

Billy Grant scraped in a wobbly Tuttle heave off the turf for a 37-yard catch to the Tiger 6, prompting Gilbert to call time out and reinsert its first-string defense. On third and goal from the six, Tuttle sold the play action and hid the ball at his hip as he waggled left. He fired a strike to his tight end Grant in the end zone to make it 42-21.

“He’s a good kid, a good athlete,” Holland said of Tuttle. “Joe’s ankle was limiting him a little bit... (Tuttle) is a little more mobile; he gives us more possibilities.”

Gilbert outrushed Buena 382-141 and outgained the Colts 512-313.