What we learned in games from Week 6
There were big stops, great comebacks, breakthroughs and statements.
Week 6 of the Arizona high school football season was filled with remarkable moments.
Let’s wind it back:
Biggest takeaway
Goodyear Desert Edge might have played itself into the Open Division after erasing a 9-0 deficit and beating Peoria Sunrise Mountain 26-23, behind the Big Three of quarterback Adryan Lara (359 yards, four TDs passing), Andrew Patterson (eight catches, 210 yards, two TDs receiving) and Jeryll McIntosh (30 carries 159 yards rushing). After moving up from 4A, the Scorpions have made their mark in 5A, beating a good, wellcoached program that beat Peoria Liberty, the defending 6A champion that lost its only other game to topranked Chandler. With co-head coaches Marcus and Mark Carter infusing non-stop energy into the program, this is a loose, yet intense team that knows when to turn it up a notch or two. Marcus Carter said he told the players before the game, “Be you tonight.”
“They came out here, and when it was time to make a play, they made the play,” he said. “We just love our guys. That was a character builder for us.”
Best breakout
Buckeye Verrado senior running back Logan Gingg had a game he’ll never forget in his team’s 60-46 win over Glendale Ironwood. He had 382 rushing yards and six TDs, letting the University of San Diego know he’s ready to make an impact once he hits campus next year. “He has been phenomenal,” coach Shawn Copeland said. “He is a hard worker on and off the field. Great teammate and leads by example. Two years in a row he has received the most votes from his peers to be captain.”
Biggest statement
COVID-19 is going to control the high school football landscape moving forward with another huge wave of cases crossing through Arizona. It’s going to take a lot of discipline, careful maneuvering and a great deal of luck for any team to get to eight games before the postseason starts. And how the postseason goes is anybody’s guess, because COVID could knock a top-rated team out. Nobody is immune. This feels like the neverending pandemic, and the number of schools having to go into a 14-day quarantine seems to be growing each week now. It’s not enough to prepare for upcoming opponents. Teams have to always be prepared for a virus that can jump out at any instant to take them out.
Best response
Glendale Cactus used losses to quality 5A teams Sunrise Mountain and Desert Edge to only help it emerge as one of the top 4A teams. And, after getting a blocked field-goal try from Ata Teutupe with two minutes left and a jump pass from the Northwest Christian 1 from Will Galvan to Riley Davies with 13 second to play to win 20-19, the Cobras showed there is no quit in them. And there won’t be any the rest of the season. It was Northwest Christian’s first loss since moving up from 3A to 4A and it was the first time the Crusaders were held to under 50 points.
“We’re battle tested,” Cactus coach Joseph Ortiz said. “And that will pay dividends moving forward. This young team doesn’t quit and believes in each other. Our strength of schedule is tough but we’re getting better every week and we’re finding our identity.”
Best resurgence
Peoria Liberty, with a new coach and a lot of new starters, has bounced back big from losses to Chandler and Sunrise Mountain to become maybe once again the sleeper team in 6A. But nobody is going to sleep on these guys with sophomore sensation Zaccheus Cooper running the ball. A Preseason All-Arizona running back selection by The Arizona Republic, Cooper is starting to really turn it on with his explosiveness and ability to break long plays with his speed and catching the ball out of the backfield. He hasn’t had a 100-yard rushing game for the 4-2 Lions, but in his last three games, wins over Queen Creek, Chaparral and Pinnacle, he has caught 18 passes for 220 yards. In Friday’s 36-25 win over Pinnacle, he caught seven passes for 132 yards and a TD and ran 15 times for 68 yards and two scores.
Best test
Phoenix Christian and Wickenburg both need a game like Friday, won by Phoenix Christian 28-20. Both teams are 4-2 and definitely headed to the 3A playoffs. They may even meet up again. Adrian Fleming threw for three TDs to lead Phoenix Christian, which didn’t need big plays all over the field by senior Howard Russell to win this game. Russell was good again, but Wickenburg controlled the clock to keep Russell off the field as long as possible. Wickenburg had a chance to tie late in the game but the Cougars forced a turnover and killed the remaining time. “Our kids followed a solid game plan that gave us 66 offensive plays to PC’s 39 offensive plays,” coach Mike Mitchell said. “They have a great back (Russell) and we kept him in check as well as we could by good ball control on our part. He still hurt us. He is a very good back.”
Biggest upset
San Tan Valley Poston Butte, unbeaten and ranked No.1in 4A, was knocked off the perch in a 28-22 loss to Peoria. Peoria was coming off a 52-12 loss to Northwest Christian. But the defense showed up in the second half, as the 3-3 Panthers outscored the Broncos 22-0.
Biggest special plays
Gilbert Higley was ready to punt the ball away with quarterback Kai Millner in punt formation on fourthand-3 with about two minutes left and hanging onto a 20-17 lead at Laveen Cesar Chavez. Coach Eddy Zubey said that Chavez set up for a return and “all their guys retreated for the return.” Millner, who is committed to California, took off with it and picked up the first down. With Chavez out of timeouts, Higley was able to burn the final two minutes. Higley survived a monster game from Chavez junior defensive lineman Jacob Holmes, 6-foot-3, 285 pounds, who had 14 tackles, five for losses and two sacks.
Elsewhere, Chandler Valley Christian kicker Dominic Zvada broke a 3A record for longest field goal with a 55-yarder in a 54-28 win over Payson. He also had seven touchbacks.
Biggest game changer
Gilbert quarterback Gavin Goulette, who only became eligible last week, had another brilliant performance, passing for 290 yards and five TDs, completing 15 of 24 in a 37-12 win over San Tan Valley Combs. He completed passes to 10 different receivers. This came a week after he was 24 of 37 for 341 yards and four TDs in a 47-46 loss to defending 4A champion Gilbert Mesquite. It took a brilliant effort from a 5-star quarterback, Ty Thompson, to rally Mesquite from an 18-point hole in the last six minutes to overshadow what Goulette did.
Around the state
- Flagstaff beat Kingman Lee Williams 35-17, setting up next week’s 4A Grand Canyon Region championship showdown against Flagstaff Coconino. Senior RB Luis Jaramillo ran for 320 yards and four TDs on 26 carries. He had scoring runs of 91 and 75 yards. Spencer Smith had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, after Lee Williams drove to the 8, down by only four points at the time.
- Phoenix Washington, at 5-1, is off to its best start since 2010, after beating Phoenix North Canyon 34-24. Seniors Dominick Sanders and Michael Gruppo have been the keys to the Rams’ breakthrough season. Sanders ran for 92 yards and two TDs and Gruppo had 127 yards and a TD receiving, including an amazing onehanded catch in the second quarter.
- Is 2A Eloy Santa Cruz the best small-school football team in the state? That can be disputed, but the Dust Devils beat a very good 3A team in Chandler Arizona College Prep, 43-37, a week after ACP shut out an explosive Chandler Valley Christian team 7-0. Santa Cruz’s only loss was to a good 4A team, Casa Grande, and the Dust Devils were competitive in the 35-14 setback. RB Hunter Ogle has been great all season for Santa Cruz.
- Jack Ricedorff threw for three TDs and ran for another in American Leadership Gilbert North’s 35-6 win over Coolidge. ALA-GN ran for more than 300 yards to improve to 5-1and to further show it is a team to be reckoned with in the 3A playoffs.
- Senior Nate Wright ran for 220 yards and three TDs and had 10 tackles in Prescott’s 32-10 win over rival Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain. Cody Leopold added 125 yards and two TDs rushing to go with 10-plus tackles on defense. The Badgers have won three in a row since starting 0-3.
- Tucson Salpointe Catholic has quietly gone 4-0 behind first-year head coach Eric Rogers after Friday’s 3821 win over Glendale Mountain Ridge. The Lancers lost a lot of players from last year’s Open Division semifinal team and following coach Dennis Bene is a tough challenge. But Rogers has worked his way into the Coach of the Year conversation with QB Treyson Bourguet and RB Robert Cordero helping Salpointe ease into the postBijan Robinson era.
- Phoenix Veritas Prep had to wait late in the week to find an opponent, but, once it did, it was a great opportunity for senior backup QB Will Jakubczyk to step up for injured Gage Lenz in a 38-0 win at Wellton Antelope. Jakubczyk was 13 of 21 for 176 yards and two TDs with one rushing score.
- Gilbert Christian senior Jace Feely, son of former NFL kicker Jay Feely, showed that he can do a lot more than just make extra points and field goals. In a 45-40 win over Mesa Eastmark, Feely, 6-1, 180, who also plays linebacker, had 13 tackles, three forced fumbles, two sacks, a fumble recovery, five touchbacks, a 34-yard field goal in his only try, and all three of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line.
Looking ahead
Our Week 7 Game of the Week takes us to Phoenix Northwest Christian, where the 4-1 Crusaders take on defending 3A champion American Leadership Queen Creek (5-1) in a key 4A game. ALA-QC, led by QB Logan Hubler, has scored 59, 58 and 58 points in its last three games. Northwest Christian was held to under 50 points once this season.