Here is a roundup of key high school football games covered by The Arizona Republic's staff on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
By Anthony Perez
The storyline of Friday night's matchup between Peoria Centennial and Scottsdale Saguaro was two traditional powers who got off to a slow start to the season looking for redemption - and a win - to open the second half of the season. But in the end, it was Centennial that capitalized on its opponent's mistakes en route to a 30-20 win in Scottsdale.
The loss kept struggling Saguaro, one of the state's best programs for the past 15 years, winless.
Key plays
With 1:53 left in the opening quarter and the game scoreless, Centennial was able to pick up a Saguaro fumble deep in its own territory. This resulted in sophomore kicker Jeremiah Harvey putting his team ahead first with a 41-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Saguaro again fumbled the ball and Centennial capitalized on that mistake with a short touchdown run by junior Gabriel Garcia.
In just 21 seconds, the game went from being a scoreless affair to Centennial carrying a 10-0 lead, a lead it would not give up the rest of the night.
Key players
Centennial got contributions on both sides of the football from multiple players, but most notable was the defensive efforts of senior Gavin Gardner, who had two defensive takeaways, one on a Saguaro fourth down with 5:41 left in the third quarter that allowed his team to take over at midfield, and another one in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
Saguaro quarterback Marcel Jones gave a strong effort in trying to get his team back in the game as he had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The junior also found sophomore Ty Strozier for his lone passing touchdown of the night that cut the Centennial lead to 10-7 late in the first half.
Both teams were able to activate several transfer players who were forced to sit the first half of the season because of AIA transfer rules, hoping to turn around their seasons. Centennial, which lost to rival Liberty in the Open Division championship game last year, still has an outside chance to make the 6A playoffs based on its strength of schedule, but it will have to keep winning. Saguaro, though improving, still is looking for that elusive first win, after losing numerous players who transferred in the offseason.
Key quotes
"I think it's really important that we're moving in the right direction. Saguaro played really hard, they played super hard. They were well-coached. So, it was a hard-fought victory and our kids prepared well this week and we were fortunate to come out on top" - Centennial head coach Richard Taylor on whether his team's two-game win streak could be the start of a larger turning point to the season
Next up
Both teams have a bye next week but will turn to action on Oct. 18 with Centennial (2-4) heading east to play Queen Creek (5-1) and Saguaro (0-6) heading north to play rival Scottsdale Chaparral (3-3).
By Howard Schlossberg
Pinnacle got back on track Friday night in a 45-14 win at home over Chaparral.
Head coach Dana Zupke said his team needed to get more "mentally" on track, eliminating errors like being out of position or missing an assignment. His Pioneers were in the right positions against the Firebirds, especially his defense, which kept Chaparral (3-3) pinned in its own end most of the game and harassed quarterbacks Cam Allen and Max Wagner.
Key plays
Pioneer made every right play when it had to. They recovered from a rare Wyatt Horton mistake on a pick in the end zone by forcing a fumble and leaving Horton and Co. with a short field immediately thereafter. Gavin Hammond paid it off with a 4-yard run and a 7-0 lead.
Seven plays later, they gave Horton the ball at the Chaparral 30 and four plays after that, Xavier Valdivia scored from the 3.
It was 21-7 in the first half, with Chaparral hanging around, after Allen, on the run, hit big Gavin Mesa, who made a sensational grab between defenders and broke away for an 84-yard TD.
But Brayden Fricke made the play of the game, picking off Allen with under a minute to go and taking it back for 6 on the play that broke the game open, gave Pinnacle momentum and perhaps broke Chaparral's spirit. That made it 28-7 at the half.
Horton got back to being Horton in the third quarter, running for a touchdown and finishing 8 of 12 for 111 yards and a score, although with a first-half pick.
Valdivia and Hammond picked him up though, each finishing with a TD, Valdivia adding a 57-yard run to set up Horton's dive TD. The defense did the rest, Chaparral barely crossing the 50 all night, although the Firebirds got a late 63-yard TD bomb from Wagner to Jayce Wilson.
Key players
Fricke was the man for Pinnacle, his pick 6 completely turning the game. The Pioneer defense also stood out. Horton was efficient and didn't have to be spectacular for Pinnacle (4-2) to win. Valdivia and Hammond ran the ball effectively.
Key quotes
"For sure, our defense stepped up," Zupke said. In fact, he liked everything about his team's play. "We played better than last week against ALA (Queen Creek)," in a loss. "I thought mentally, we were a lot better."
Up Next
Pinnacle (4-2) continues with its tough schedule next week against Liberty (4-1), which rolled over Chandler Friday. Chaparral (3-3) tries to bounce back at home against city rival Saguaro (0-6).
The Barry Goldwater Bulldogs (4-2) established themselves as a 5A underdog to keep an eye on with a 43-37 win at Apollo (3-3) Friday in a back-and-forth game.
Key plays
Goldwater was the first to find the scoreboard with a rushing touchdown by running back Dylan Hayhurst at 7:58 in the first quarter. The home side matched four minutes later with a touchdown by wide receiver Isaiah White. They missed the PAT, with the quarter ending in a Goldwater lead, 7-6.
The Hawks opened the second quarter with an 18-yard field goal by kicker Julian Perez to go up 9-7. Hayhurst had another touchdown for 31 yards, followed by a two-point conversion, widening the gap for the Bulldogs lead 15-9. Shortly after, the Hawks followed with a touchdown by running back Jalen Anderson. Immediately, Bulldogs running back Ika Henry scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, ending the half 23-16.
The third quarter looked promising for a Hawks comeback, opening with another touchdown by White. The Bulldogs, however, put up a fight with a 47-yard touchdown by Hayhurst and a 66-yard touchdown by offensive lineman Jayvion Whitt, widening the lead 37-23. The Hawks responded, making it 37-30 with another touchdown by White.
At 6:33 in the fourth, Hayhurst scored his fourth score of the night. The conversion was missed, but the lead widened to 43-30. A minute and a half later, White scored his fourth touchdown of the night, to make it 43-37.
The game ended on a nail-biting note. With 1:26 left in the game, and Apollo in scoring position, the Bulldogs intercepted in the end zone, and ran the clock out.
Key players
Bulldogs RB Dylan Hayhurst: 4 TDs; Hawks WR Isaiah White: 4 TDs
Quotes:
"We have a lot of guys who have been working hard all season, and in the last couple of weeks they've bonded and come together. There is no quit in our team." -Goldwater Head Coach Frank Lautt
"We don't have the most size, but we have the most grit, and the most determined people. So we make it work." -Goldwater running back Dylan Hayhurst
Next up:
The Apollo Hawks (3-3) will host the Shadow Ridge Stallions (0-5) next Friday. The Goldwater Bulldogs (4-2) will host the Ironwood Eagles (4-2 ) on Oct. 18.
By Jackson Shaw
Seton Catholic was red-hot heading into Friday night's home game, but Snowflake's defense was the catalyst in their 41-0 road win.
Key Plays
Karter Raban finished off the first scoring drive for the Lobos with a 4-yard rushing touchdown after Merrick Ulberg carried a reverse handoff 20 yards to set it up. After that it was all Lobos.
Jacob LaDuke found Christian Smith down the middle for a 40-yard deep ball that put the Lobos up 20-0 to end the half. Snowflake intercepted Seton quarterback Chase Dickson three times in the second half and returned two of them back for touchdowns. The first came from Ezra Baum as he picked off a deep throw to the end zone.
Then, Gionn Jones got in front of the ball and returned it 30 yards for a score. Aaden Coor caught a 15-yard pass that came up just short of the end zone, which Kanton Turley was able to punch in on the next play. Two plays later, Coor intercepted Dickson's throw deep in Sentinel territory and ran it back for the final score.
Key Players
Aaden Coor had two big plays on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter. He caught a pass from LaDuke to set up a Kanton Turley one-yard score, then returned a pick-six two plays later for the Lobo defense. Christian Smith caught the only Snowflake passing score, a 40-yard deep ball from LaDuke. Grey Jorgensen was big for the Sentinel defense. He recovered a fumble and was involved in many of Seton's stops.
Quotes
"Literally everything went well tonight. Defense showed up to play, offense showed up to play. It was just a combined team win. The D-Line did amazing tonight. They did their job, and that's why us as the linebackers can go clean up everything, so big shout out to the D-line and the corners making plays when they did." - Snowflake's Aaden Coor
"Defensively, the defense is coming along. We don't pitch a lot of shutouts. We're a bend but don't break, but I'm proud of them tonight against a solid Seton Catholic offensive attack. Our defense stood up to the task tonight and did a great job." - Snowflake head coach Kay Solomon
Next Up
Snowflake (5-0) will have another long trip for its first section matchup at Poston Butte (2-4) on Friday (Oct. 11), and Seton Catholic (4-2) will stay home for a section game against Independence (5-1).