Northland Prep, Blue Ridge win crowns

The Northland Preparatory Academy Spartans wrapped up another undefeated season with their fourth consecutive 2A girls state title on Nov. 7, beating the St. Johns Redskins 5-0 in the championship game.

The win concludes a dominant high school career for the Northland seniors, who went 75-1 with four titles at the Flagstaff charter school. This year, they tallied 10 shutouts and outscored their opponents 104-4.

But according to co-coaches Michael Blair and Keith Hovis, this season was anything but easy. A COVID-19 scare cost the Spartans a week early in the season, and another threatened their senior night and potentially the playoffs.

They also faced tougher competition, Blair calling the other 2A teams “better than they’ve ever been.” But that just makes Northland’s dominance all the more impressive.

“I think that building the program up, we obviously thought we’d have a successful run with this class,” Hovis said. “It’s not just on the soccer field as well, it’s just the quality of kids that we have, academically and everything else that they do. That’s a big part of our program.”

As usual, their strong senior class led the way. Hovis’s daughter, Kiarra, tallied two goals, an assist and seven steals in the semifinals against Show Low on Friday, and Blair’s daughter, Mia, oneupped her with a hat trick and an assist in Saturday’s finals.

Kiarra Hovis missed almost the entire 2019 season and Mia Blair missed half of 2018, both due to ACL injuries.

“Just to see what they were able to do this year amongst all the rest of the team, and just really have a fun year and be healthy, I think we all just really enjoyed and appreciated watching them,” Michael Blair said.

The co-coaches face a steep challenge next year. They are set to graduate nine seniors in total, including Blair, Hovis, fellow captains Jayden Dvorak and Ellie Karren, and goalkeeper Payten Schmidt. But they aren’t too worried.

“Basically, all the other coaches said, ‘If you guys can lose this 2021 class and still do really well next year, you’re definitely Coach of the Year,’ ” Michael Blair said. “I think that’s the fun of it for us, is it’s going to be a good challenge.

“Anyone can coach a bunch of kids that are really good players,” he added. “It’s about making players and making young adults, mainly, working with them to come together as a unit to play the best that they can and get the results that they want and deserve.”

For Keith Hovis, it all comes down to the winning legacy that the Class of 2021 leaves behind.

“Our end goal, with this class for sure, is that we could win championships and be there every year,” he said. “They’ve left a legacy. So other kids know when they come to our program, they know the work they have to put in because they know that’s what we’re about.”

Blue Ridge downs Chino Valley for 2nd straight title

A reworked defense stepped up down the stretch for the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets, holding their last four opponents scoreless, including a 4-0 championship shutout over Chino Valley on Nov. 7.

This is Blue Ridge’s second straight 2A boys title, last year’s also coming against the Cougars. Chino Valley has finished second in the division each of the last three years.

Head coach Kirby Elkins attributes the improved defense to health, as well as a key position change. He moved senior Jackie Belnap from defensive mid to center back, and the change had ripple effects on the entire defense.