Highland beats ALA Queen Creek setting up likely Open Division playoff berth

In a crucial game for two 6A teams fighting for a berth in the Open Division, Highland beat ALA Queen Creek 21-11 on Friday evening in Gilbert in a matchup that will have implications down the line.

The Hawks used their ferocious defense to shut down another high-scoring offense to move to 6-2 on the season. The Patriots drop to 6-2 on the year.

Here are three key takeaways from the game.

Hawks hop in the driver’s seat

With this win, Highland will most likely receive an invitation to the Open Division playoffs, a format they have missed out on every single year since its inception.

Of course, the Hawks have no control over the formulas that compute the AIA’s rankings. But their win over ALA Queen Creek, who came into the game at No. 6 in the Open, should put them into that coveted top eight.

“One of our offensive coaches said, ‘Welcome to the playoffs,’” Highland coach Brock Farrel said. “We are now in playoff football because we have to take care of business. We gotta win out. And if we win out, it gives us a chance. What I think now is that we put ourselves in the driver’s seat that we control our destiny. We don’t have to have help from others, like we have in the past.”

The Hawks can set their own path if they win out in the regular season, which should mean they’re in the Open come November.

But that doesn’t mean they’re letting their guard down after an emotional win. Farrel knows this is the time to stay aggressive.

“Highland’s M.O. is big win, then the next week think they’re the New York Giants,” Farrel said. “We need to move on from that, play our best football and get ready for Queen Creek.”

After next week’s game against Queen Creek, Highland finishes the regular season with a home game against Mesa Desert Ridge.

For ALA Queen Creek, this loss certainly hurts their chances of making the Open Division playoffs. It’s not solidified though they won’t be in the Open, and coach Ty Detmer is using that as motivation.

“You never know,” Detmer said. “If Pinnacle keeps winning, our strength of schedule stays up there. You never know what’s going to happen, that’s what you tell them. One game doesn’t define your season. Yeah, it’s a big game, it keeps you in the battle for a potential high seed in the Open. But it’s not our season. We got two more to go that are still going to be dogfights. This will be a great game for us going toward the playoffs, wherever that may be.”

Next week ALA Queen Creek plays a tough game at home against Gilbert Williams Field. The Patriots end their season with an away game at Queen Creek.

Highland offense starts the night off and ends it too

It was obvious that Jay Martin was one of the best players on the field Friday night with his effort. Martin’s 42-yard touchdown run broke open the scoring for the Hawks.

And it came at a crucial time too.

Highland was set up in prime position at the Patriots’ 42-yard line following a poor punt from ALA Queen Creek.

The play right before Martin’s touchdown, junior quarterback Jalen Fisher threw a 42-yard dime that was placed right in the hands of junior wide receiver Greg Toler Jr. for an easy score, but the ball was dropped.

On the very next play, Farrel dialed up Martin and the senior dashed his way up the left sideline, dodging a few defenders for the touchdown.

“Jay is hard to tackle all night long,” Farrel said. “He just wears on you. Right when you think you have him bottled up, the next play, he breaks it off. He’s a talented young man.”

That was Highland’s only touchdown of the night until the fourth quarter. After ALA Queen Creek scored and converted a two-point attempt, Highland was looking at 1st and 10 from their 20-yard line with less than 6 minutes left on the clock.

All Highland needed was one final drive to close out the game. Instead, Fisher stepped back, turned to his left and hit senior Katcher Taylor for an 80-yard touchdown that essentially ended the game.

“It was a screen down the line,” Taylor said. “I got the ball, turned, saw the guy, kind of geeked him inside and just took it outside. I just ran by him. It was awesome.”

Highland defense clamps down yet again

This Hawks defense has become known for their tough and physical play over the years, and the game against ALA Queen Creek was just the latest example why they should be considered the top unit in the state.

Up until 7:00 left in the fourth quarter, the Patriots had only mustered 3 points. Then a huge 38-yard catch by senior wide receiver Jayden Williams put ALA Queen Creek in Highland territory. Senior quarterback Enoch Watson punched it from 2 yards out to make it 14-11 after the two-point conversion with 5:54 remaining in the game.

That’s when the 80-yard play happened, taking all the life out of the ALA Queen Creek sidelines.

Seemingly every play on the night ended with a swarm of Hawks around a single Patriot.

Defensive back Kody Cullimore was a force all night, roaming the Highland secondary and using his expansive skill set to shut down any big plays.

He’s also a weapon on offense, splitting time between Wild Cat quarterback and running back.

“He’s probably our overall best football player,” Farrel said. “We bring him in that two-minute drill, he catches four balls to get us in field goal range. He runs our defense, he covers hash to hash from the middle and fills in the run. He makes you look smart.”

On the night, six of the nine Patriots’ drives on offense resulted in a punt. The other one was a turnover on downs.

It was another stellar showing from the Hawks’ stingy defense.

“Our defense played excellent,” Farrel said. “We tried to make a coverage change last minute, we didn’t communicate. The one time we didn’t communicate, they took advantage of it, Other than that, I thought our defense played excellent.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Highland beats ALA Queen Creek to set up likely Open Division playoff berth