Arizona HS football roundup: Liberty, Horizon, Desert Mountain, Sunnyslope post wins

Bruzon leads Liberty past Saguaro

By Anthony Perez

Rankings were a big storyline heading into this week’s matchup between Scottsdale Saguaro (4-4) and Peoria Liberty (7-1). Saguaro entered the week on the outside looking into the Open Division playoff rankings, while The Republic has Liberty ranked No. 1 in iits Super 10 (the AIA has them No. 2).

Saguaro is came in ranked No. 9 in the Repoublic's 6A rankings.

So, what is there to make of all this? Nothing at all if you asked Liberty after Friday night’s game as they shut out any noise there might’ve been in regards to rankings and let their play speak for itself in a complete 31-3 win over Saguaro in Peoria.

Standout performers

It seems like lately when you think of Liberty you think of Navi Bruzon, and for good reason. The senior quarterback stood out yet again on Friday night, notching a pair of touchdown passes and rushing into the end zone for one more. The first of his two scoring passes came when he found senior receiver Ryan Jezioro on a 20-yard pass to put his team on the scoreboard first with 7:32 left in the opening quarter, while his second one came with 3:45 left in the first half when he found senior receiver Dayton Welsh in the end zone for 18 yards.

The Liberty defense did an excellent job of bottling up the Saguaro offense as it’s only successful bid to cut into the host’s lead came with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter when junior kicker Bo Hampton hit a successful 29-yard field goal attempt.

Highlight of the game

With Liberty leading just 7-0 early in the second quarter, it fumbled the ball at the Saguaro five yard line. The error appeared to give Saguaro life as it was able to go on a drive downfield, but that drive, which lasted a little more than five minutes, ended after a turnover on downs inside the Liberty 30 yard line. All of Saguaro’s momentum seemed to evaporate following the loss of possession and it would be first of four trips inside the Liberty 30 yard line on Friday night, where Saguaro was only able to get three points in those four occasions.

Quote of the game

“You got to play the games on the field, right? Centennial is number one, and rightfully so, they’re an undefeated football team. So, we’ll just keep trying to take it one week at a time and look at the game in front of us and be ready to play” - Liberty Head Coach Colin Thomas on whether there’s much discussion about the rankings with his team in the days leading up to a game

Up next

Saguaro will return home to play Salpointe Catholic, while Liberty plays its final road game of the season at Scottsdale Chaparral. Both games are next Friday.

Horizon dominates Higley in clash of 5A contenders

By Dylan Ackermann

In a game seens as a potential 5A championship showdown, the Friday night contest between Higley and Horizon proved a one-sided affair. The Huskies, ranked No. 4 spot in 5A by the AIA, handled the No. 3 Knights, 28-6.

In a display of complete control, the Horizon excelled on both offense and defense, forcing six Higley punts, blocking a field goal, and allowing only two Knights' opportunities in the red zone during the entire game.

Standout Performers

Anthony Segura, Higley's senior Running back and middle linebacker, had an exceptional outing, registering three touchdowns . He also demonstrated his defensive prowess with a fumble recovery and a sack, all while almost securing two interceptions.

For Higley, senior running back Daxton Hall notched his 13th rushing touchdown of the season. Meanwhile, the defense made significant contributions with an interception by senior free safety Andrew Zubey and a forced fumble courtesy of middle linebacker Jayden Olcott.

The game witnessed a total of 10 punts, as both punters, Kanyon Floyd and Chansyn Mala, deserve recognition.

Key Plays

Horizon opened the scoring with a 19-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Jace Ashley to Vince Valentino. Later, just before the first half concluded, Segura scored on a 45-yard touchdown run.

In the third quarter, Higley's sophomore wide receiver Jaden Taylor made a critical 47-yard reception that seemed to ignite the Knights' offense. After reaching the end zone on this drive, this touchdown would be the Knights lone one of the game.

Beginning here, the Huskies seemed invincible, extending their lead with two more touchdowns, even as Ashley was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter due to a late hit.

Quotes of the Game

“I believe that this was a great team win and our moral is only going to get boosted from this,” Segura said. “We just have to keep the momentum going throughout the rest of the season.”

“It’s huge for our confidence,” Valentino said. “We came off of a good win last week and we knew we had to play really good this week. We had a bye week, so we had a lot of time to prepare for them. We knew we wanted to play our game which we did and we executed perfectly.”

Up Next

Next week, Higley (6-2) travels to another 5A power, Desert Mountain, while Horizon (6-2) hosts Cactus Shadows.

Desert Mountain stays unbeaten, in Open playoff mix

By Alex Chenevey

In a heavyweight clash between two highly ranked 5A teams, it was Scottsdale Desert Mountain that prevailed over ALA Gilbert North 36-21.

After a 23 point first half, the Wolves scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to keep both their undefeated season and hopes of making it to the AIA Open playoffs alive. They currently are ranked No 1 in 5A by the AIA and hold the No. 7 spot for the Open Division playoffs, which takes the top eight overall teams from among 6A, 5A and 4A.

Key plays

On the first third down of the game, Desert Mountain senior quarterback Brady Mcdonough scanned the field and found senior wideout Jack Freeburg wide open on a busted coverage for the 70-plus-yard touchdown to open the scoring in favor of the Wolves 7-0.

Desert Mountain was just getting started. as senior defensive back Santana Wilson got a play in at running back, found a crease and took it 46 yards to the house to give Desert Mountain a 13-0 lead.

The Wolves offensive show would keep rolling on, as Mcdonough found junior wideout Journey Solomon on a slant route over the middle, and Solomon turned on the afterburners to score from 47 yards out to propel Desert Mountain to a 20 point lead. After Wolves junior kicker Alex Weeks knocked in a short field goal, Desert Mountain took a 23-0 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the half, ALA Gilbert North scored their first points of the game off of a long pick six from junior linebacker Kody Thorley to put the Eagles on the board and cut the Wolves lead to 16.

After ALA Gilbert North was driving the ball down the field in the fourth quarter determined to find the end zone, Wolves junior safety Payton Carroll intercepted Eagles junior quarterback Bryson Landen by jumping the screen pass and taking it all the way for a pick six to put the Wolves up 30-7.

Desert Mountain was able to close it out from there.

Key players

Desert Mountain’s offense was rolling in the first half, as Mcdonough kept moving the chains on clutch third down conversions. He would throw two touchdown passes along with a rushing touchdown. Junior running back Cameron Terry picked up some chunk gains on the ground. Santana Wilson was wreaking havoc on both sides of the ball, scoring a 46 yard touchdown and notching two interceptions.

For the eagles, quarterback Bryson Landen came in for junior Conner White and threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. The defense forced three fumbles, recovering all of them.

Key quotes

“We hit some big plays in the passing game,” said Desert Mountain head coach Conrad Hamilton. “That was one of the better games that we played defensively. I’m proud of our guys, but I’m not proud of the way we finished.”

Up next

Desert Mountain (8-0) has a big 5A championship rematch coming up next Friday hosting Higley in a matchup that has major 5A and Open implications. ALA Gilbert North (5-3) will look to rebound back at home against Notre Dame Prep (4-4).

Sunnyslope tops McClintock in 5A battle

By Benjamin Yates

The Sunnyslope Vikings (4-4) defeated the McClintock Chargers (5-3) by a score of 45-35 Friday in one of several critical 5A games that could help determine playoff seedings.

The Chargers came into the game No. 16 in the AIA 5A rankings and the Vikings 17. The Top 16 teams in the conference will make it to the playoff tournament, but two teams from 5A could elevate to the Open playoffs, meaning teams on the cusp could elevate into the bracket.

On Friday, Vikings senior quarterback Luke Moga, an Oregon commit, was showed why he is one of the state's top quarterback prospects. He was involved in every touchdown, running in for two himself, one of them for a rushing touchdown of over 70 yards.

McClintock struggled out early, and ended up trailing 31-7 before Halftime.

But things turned, as the Vikings allowed 28 points in the second half, including a couple of 2-point conversions, as the Chargers made it a game.

However, the Vikings could not be stopped as Moga would lead the team to a scoring run of two touchdowns that led to a final score of 45-35.

Key Plays

Vikings senior wide receiver Dillon Dwiggins had the first score of the night, coming off of a long pass by Moga. Moga's long rushing touchdown, more than 70 yards, seemed to set the tone.

Moga wasn’t perfect, he threw one interception, and it ended up becoming a Charger touchdown later. Sophomore defensive back Jeremiah Paet with the interception play. But after the Chargers Kahmar Hawkins touchdown that followed, Moga led the Vikings to a scoring run that took them through to the final 45 total of the night. The one play in particular that led the momentum was Moga’s quarterback sneak.

Key Quotes

“I feel like we have a high chance. We are a good team, we’ve built a lot of chemistry this season, and we definitely have a good chance to make the playoffs.” - Chargers junior wide receiver Kemon Jackson

“Feels great, nothing that I love more than coming out here and winning with my brothers. Great first half, went in at halftime it was great. We came out after, going a little short, but we rallied back.” - Vikings senior wide receiver, Homecoming King, Matthew Vera

“McClintock’s a good team. It was a good fought victory, it shouldn’t have been that close, but it’s homecoming. We got the victory and that’s all that matters.” - Vikings senior quarterback Luke Moga

Up Next

Sunnyslope next faces Dobson while McClintock will play Campo Verde.

Little, Woods star in Thunderbirds' win over Buckeye

By Howard Schlossberg

In a game of spectacular plays, the winning edge for Thunderbird Friday night over visiting Buckeye was the steady ball carrying of Elijah Little and Tyler Woods.

They accounted for 359 yards rushing between them and Thunderbird rolled up 514 in total offense in outrunning Darius Haskin and Buckeye, 49-28.

Key plays

It was a key play every time Little touched the ball, as he averaged almost 10 yards a carry and scored 4 TDs.

But the game was still in doubt in the 4th after another Haskin circus catch brought Buckeye inside the 10 with a little over 7 minutes left. Despite dominating all game, Thunderbird's 42-28 lead was looking tenuous.

But in a game dominated by offense, Thunderbird's defense rose up and stopped Haskin short of a first down on a fourth down option run.

Thunderbird put the game away thereafter in 7 plays, the key a 54-yard dart by Woods (7 carries, 129 yards).

Little scored 5 plays later from 11 yards out.

The Titans (6-2) dominated the first half, Little scoring twice as Thunderbird built a 28-14 halftime lead and Talan Flores and Ryan Kavalami teamed up from their defensive end positions to contain Buckeye.

Almost.

In his spectacular fashion, Haskin had a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD and outleaped everyone for a TD on a pass from Ricardo Juarez, who gave Buckeye a jolt when he entered at quarterback.

Buckeye came out fired up and scored to open the second half, but swapping TDs with Thunderbird was never going to work.

Little scored again in the third quarter, on a 26-yard run and the clincher in the 4th.

Key stats

Little had 230 rushing in a duel of sorts with Haskin, who had 5 catches for 122 yards and 2 TDs, all of them athletically ridiculous.

Andrew Cohill ran the Titan offense efficiently and threw for 118 yards.

Brian Costa had spectacular catches of his own, including a steal from a Buckeye defender, and even ran a successful game punt.

Thunderbird totaled 514 in total offense.

Key quotes

Thunderbird coach Matt Nalette believes he has a winner that could challenge for a 4A title.

"We've just got to eliminate the mistakes," especially some key penalties.

He called Haskin a spectacular player who is so difficult to contain.

But so are his Titans.

"Elijah keeps getting better, reads his blocking so well. I think we have the best 1-2 combination in 4A," in Little QTand Woods, and an offensive line that makes them go.

Up next

Thunderbird has a big one at Northwest Christian. Buckeye tries to rebound against St Mary's at home.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona HS football roundup: Liberty, Horizon, Desert Mountain, Sunnyslope post wins