A roundup of key games in Arizona high school football for Oct. 14. Check back for updates:
The Battle of Knox Road looked like it was going to be an offensive showcase in the first half, but after halftime the defenses took over. Tempe Corona del Sol (5-1) was able to scratch across a late touchdown that proved to be the difference over Phoenix Mountain Pointe (3-3) in a 35-28 win Friday night in Tempe.
Corona del Sol was led by junior quarterback Connor Ackerley. He helped give the home team a 14-7 advantage in the opening quarter when he connected with junior wide receiver Zuri Glenn for a 20-yard touchdown pass. He later snuck into the end zone on a one-yard run to help give the Aztecs the lead, 28-21, in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. He then connected with junior Crew Swearingen on a 10-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the winning score for Corona del Sol.
The connection of senior quarterback Christopher Arviso and senior Jaylen Johnson helped keep Mountain Pointe close the whole game. Their first connection came with 8:47 left in the first half to tie the game up at 21. The duo hooked up again with 4:12 left in regulation to cut the Corona lead to 35-28.
With the game tied at 21 through the whole third quarter, The Pride had numerous opportunities to grab their first lead of the night. But they were unable to score on any of their third quarter drives and Corona del Sol was able to extend its lead to 14 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter when Ackerley rushed into the end zone from a yard out to give his team its biggest lead of the night.
“Connor Ackerley had a great game. He really did. That’s back-to-back weeks of some big-time plays for him, but the offensive line really stepped up. We were down a right guard and kind of plugged some people in. They really made me proud tonight. They stepped up and had a great night” - Corona del Sol head coach Jake Barro, on his team’s offense Friday night .
Mountain Pointe travels to Mesa to play Dobson next Friday, while Corona del Sol will host Phoenix Desert Vista.
Williams Field used big plays to hold off host Mesa Mountain View Friday Night, 31-14, in a key 6A East Valley contest.
Defensive back Matteus Bugg sealed the game late for Williams Field with a 78-yard interception return to cap the scoring.
The Blackhawks (3-3, 1-0) jumped to an early 14-0 lead while Mountain View (2-4, 1-0) saw its standout quarterback Jack Germaine temporarily sidelined for nearly the entire second quarter and all of the third quarter.
Somehow, the Toros managed to keep the game close, as sophomore quarterback Nico Fitzgerald filled in nicely.
Williams Field receiver Austin Vincent finished with 174 receiving yards, including two of the biggest plays of the night and was a deep threat all game.
Early in the second quarter, Vincent got wide open on a trick play on which backup quarterback back Xavier Newman took a handoff before spotting Vincent from 45 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Williams Field cling to a 17-7 lead when starting quarterback Travis Ebner found Vincent deep for a 78 yard completion, setting up a two yard score by running back Briton Stanton and. 24-7 lead.
In the second half, Mountain View wideout Zack Gaumont used his speed to keep the Toros in the game with a pair of screen passes he turned into long touchdown plays of 81 and 49 yards.
Early in the second quarter, Germaine was tackled and landed awkwardly. He looked sharp after returning in the fourth quarter, throwing for 110 yards in two drives before Bugg’s interception put the game away.
“That was a team win all the way around. You have to give Mountain View credit for fighting back, but this was a good team win.
Sometimes our offense will start off slow while the defense dominates, and then as the game goes on it will be the opposite, but we came together in the fourth quarter when we really needed to.”
—Williams Field receiver Austin Vincent.
Mountain View will host Chandler (6-0) while Williams Field heads south to take on Tucson Salpointe Catholic (3-3).
Mesa Eastmark and Tucson Sabino faced each other Friday night in a matchup one-loss teams in te 3A conference. Host Eastmark rolled to a win by a score of 56-19 in a game that never was close.
Eastmark started the game by scoring 28 straight points. Before the first quarter even ended, the Firebirds had a 21-0 lead.
The game started with senior quarterback Mack Molander leading Eastmark 75 yards down the field. On this drive he found his star wide receiver Austin Johnston multiple times for 58 yards. Molander would finish the drive with his legs by scoring on a two-yard run.
Molander was not done using his feet. Early in the second quarter he scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown that would put the Firebirds up 28-0.
As time was expiring, Molander found Johnston again for an 80-yard touchdown pass that sent the Firebirds to the locker room with a 42-7 lead.
Sabino had some impressive touchdown plays, including an 80-yard run from junior running back Mason Cade to put the team on the board. To open up the second half, junior quarterback Cameron Hackworth rushed for 64-yard touchdown to cut the Sabercats lead down to 42-13.
Johnston put on the best performance of any players Friday night. In the first half alone, the wide receiver racked up nine catches for 212 yards and a touchdown. In the second half he only had one catch for 11 yards but returned a punt for a touchdown.
Molander also had a solid day, passing for 293 yards and three touchdowns.
Eastmark's defense also played a great game. The team racked up three interceptions and two sacks.
Sabino had some impressive performances on the ground, especially from Hackworth. The quarterback rushed 14 times for 164 yards and a touchdown. Cade also rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown.
"We were able to stop an overall talented and explosive offense,'' said Eastmark head coach Scooter Molander. "They have a lot of really good-looking players. There's always things to clean up but I liked the way we played."
He also mentioned how important Johnston and Molander are to the team.
"Those two are the hardest workers on the team. They always stay around after practice for 15 minutes and just work on stuff. It's not luck, they work hard."
Eastmark (7-1) will stay at home to take on Coolidge (3-5) next week. Sabino (6-2) will be back on the road against Thatcher (8-0).
Buckeye Verrado and Desert Edge matched up Friday night in a thriller that came down to the end as the Scorpions hung on at home, 23-21 in a 5A matchup.
With the game on the line, Jamar Beal-Goines got around the line and was able to fully extend and block thea Verrado field goal attempt, preserving the two-point lead — and the win — for Desert Edge.
Desert Edge opened up to a quick 20-0 lead over the Vipers behind a balanced rushing and passing attack. The Vipers were able to cut the lead down to six before the end of the half. Multiple forced turnovers by Verrado got them within two in the second half but the comeback fell short.
Gavin Parks caught a touchdown pass from Desert Edge quarterback Hezekiah Millender for 71-yards.
Colin Tibbs had a diving catch in the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown for Verrado.
The Vipers forced a fumble on defense and was then able to use an eight play drive for the chance at the game winning field goal.
Jamar Beal-Goines blocked the game winning field goal attempt from the Vipers late in the fourth quarter.
Beal-goines was the player of the night for Desert Edge as his block sealed the win.
Erick Santiago finished the game with three touchdown passes and 260 passing yards for Verrado.
Hezekiah Miller finished with one 13-yard touchdown run and threw for 224-yards and one touchdown pass for the Scorpions.
“I was nervous,” said Beal-Goines on what was going through his head before he was able to block the field goal attempt. “I was thinking I got to block this, I can’t miss.”
Added co-head coach Mark Carter of Desert Edge: “We practice special teams every single day. Special teams are a big part of our team. I make sure we practice this every single day.”
Buckeye Verrado (3-3) hosts Millennium next Friday, while Desert Edge (5-2) will visti Sunrise Mountain.
They have a bigger team, a bigger roster and they make bigger plays.
Scottsdale Christian seems to do everything bigger and they showed how Friday night in 2A Verde Section 49-8 win over Valley Lutheran at Phoenix Christian.
Coby Tabet (3 rushing TDs) and quarterback Jack Atkinson (6-9-77 and 2 TDs) paced an Eagles squad that made no mistakes.
Tabet was virtually unstoppable, gaining 152 yards on just 15 carries, speeding through tacklers and bolting into high gear when in an open field. He scored on a 6-yard run in the first quarter, a 31-yarder in the 2nd and a 32-yarder in the 3rd.
Atkinson was slick, laying the ball in perfectly for Jacob Trapp and a 19-yard score in the 2nd quarter and 7 yards to Caeden Murphy for 6 in the 3rd quarter.
The Eagles got it done on special teams and defense too. Kevin Joyce had a punt-return TD in the second period, when the Eagles broke the game open. Jaden Dufek closed the scoring with a 40-yard interception return for 6 in the 4th.
Jason Stanfield had Valley Lutheran's only score and went for 49 yards on 14 carries.
The game turned when Valley Lutheran failed to connect on a fake punt with a receiver open. That gave the Eagles a short field and Atkinson made them pay with the TD toss to Trapp (3 catches, 44 yards).
Joyce's punt return gave Scottsdale Christian an insurmountable lead against a Valley Lutheran team (3-4, 1-2) playing down 5 starters.
The Eagles (6-2), which entered the game No. 8 in the AIA 2A rankings, finished with a modest 309 yards total offense, taking advantage of repeated good field position. Valley Lutheran (3-4, No. 10) had just 138 yards total offense, 60 on their 4th-quarter TD drive.
Nate Holtz believes in his Eagles and their potential in the playoffs, but they never look too far ahead.
"Let's see what we can do. Our next most-important game is our next game," he said.
"Scottsdale Christian is a great team," said Valley Lutheran coach Brian Porter. But with so many pieces missing, "It was a struggle."
Scottsdale Christian hosts Scottsdale Coronado next Friday; Valley Lutheran hosts Veritas Prep.