Week 6 HS football roundup: Centennial, Highland score key wins

Highland survives late scare to edge Brophy

By Anthony Perez

In what was arguably Gilbert Highland’s (3-1) biggest test of the season, it survived a roller coaster of a second half that included an offense that went cold and having to fend off a long Phoenix Brophy Prep drive (1-3) to win, 13-8, in 6A Conference action at Central High School on Friday night.

Standout performers

The kickers starred on a night where there were four total field goals made between the two teams. Highland’s kicker, senior Crew Crockett, put his team ahead first when he hit a field goal from about 33 yards out with 5:32 left in the first quarter. He extended the Highland lead to six with 9:30 left in the second quarter when he made a 32-yard attempt.

Brophy Prep’s kicker, junior Connor Furey, put the host team on the board in the waning moments of the second quarter when he successfully hit a field goal from around 42 yards out. His second successful field goal of the night came with 6:27 left in the game to cut the Highland lead to one score when a Brophy Prep drive stalled out at the 10 yard line.

Highlight of the game

With Brophy Prep facing a 3rd and goal situation at the 1 yard line and seven seconds left in the game, junior quarterback Charles McGinnis stepped back to pass and threw to his right. The ball landed in the end zone but in the arms of a Highland defender. That defender grabbed it, took a knee in the end zone, and quickly put an end to any hopes of a Brophy Prep victory.

Quote of the game

“Our defense was on the field all night. They never broke, I guess that is probably the best way to put it. We put them in bad situations and they just kept being resilient and coming back. I thought our physicality was great all night. I just can’t say enough about our defense.” - Highland head coach Brock Farrel on his team’s resilient win

Up next

Highland returns home to play Chandler Hamilton, while Brophy Prep hosts Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep next week.

Hamilton dominant in win over Horizon

By Lucas Gordon

There are two words to describe Hamilton football's performance on Friday night: Pure dominance.

The Huskies rode a strong first quarter all the way to a victory in their 66-21 win over Horizon.

Key plays, players

The defense for Hamilton showed out strong to start the game. Horizon was unable to pick up a first down until its fifth drive of the game. Up until the end of first half, Horizon did not make it past their own 36-yard line.

Linebacker Alex McLaughlin, was the star on defense for Hamilton. McLaughlin recorded an interception and multiple tackles on the night.

The great play by the defense made it very easy for the offense to get rolling. In the first quarter alone, every Hamilton possession started on the Horizon side of the field.

Quarterback Roch Cholowsky took advantage of the short field, accumulating for five touchdowns on the team's first five drives.

He found senior wide receiver, Dorian Kearny six times in the first half. Kearny, who only played in the first half, picked up 138 yards through the air and three touchdowns including a reception that went for 54 yards and opened the scoring for Hamilton.

Senior wide receiver Trey Spivey was also a weapon in Cholowsky's arsenal. Spivey didn't get started until the second quarter but he would finish the game with 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Cholowsky would finish the day going 11-15 for 266 yards and five touchdowns. Cholowsky also picked up a touchdown using his feet to extend the lead to 56-7 at the end of the first half.

None of Hamilton's offensive starters played in the second half.

Key Quotes

Hamilton head coach Michael Zdebski was happy with the way the offense was able to spread the ball around. Six different players scored a touchdown for the Huskies.

"I think the balance allows diversification. That way you can't sit on one guy. Now you can't double this guy or focus on this one."

Zdebski did find some negatives in his team's dominant win. He wants his special teams to improve in their next game.

"We have to have better coverage on kickoffs. We had a return that got out there a ways. There were a couple guys who had breakdowns on coverages. We need to improve and get better."

Up Next

Hamilton (3-1) will take on Highland (3-1) next. Horizon (1-2) is set to play Pinnacle (2-1) next week.

Centennial defense fuels win over Millennium

By Alex Suarez

Peoria Centennial’s dominant defense helped fueled a win Friday night against Goodyear Millennium, 27-7.

The Coyotes forced six turnovers, while recording six sacks. The game started off with three straight punts before Millennium was able to score first late in the first quarter. As defense remained key throughout the night, the Coyotes were able to get their last turnover of the game on an interception, before eventually running out the clock to close out the win.

Key Plays

Derek Berry got the scoring started for Millennium by completing a 68-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Trim.

Kavaughn Clark evened the score at 7-7 after breaking free for a 53-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

Centennial then was closing to taking the lead but the Millennium defense knocked the ball loose short of the end zone, but it rolled out the back for a touchback.

With Millennium then pushing the ball downfield, Centennial forced a fumble and then a turnover on downs on a key fourth and 1 play. The Coyotes then marched down the field and scored on a 5-yard quarterback keeper from Steven Urquiza.

Key performers

Kenneth Worthy III finished the game with two interceptions for Centennial. Clark ran for two touchdowns for the Coyotes.

Trim was able to make key catches all throughout the night and his biggest came from a 68-yard pass that caught for a touchdown.

Urquiza had one touchdown pass and one touchdown run for the Coyotes.

Key Quotes

"We knew they were a good defense up front," said Urquiza, the Centennial quarterback. "We knew what our offense could do and were able to execute."

"I love our defense," he added. "Our front was able to give them pressure, making it harder for the quarterback. It gave our defense the best chance to make a play and get the ball back."

Up Next

Millennium heads to Sandra Day O'Connor, while Peoria Centennial will host Williams Field.

Basha cruises by Mountain View

By Ben Stapley

Friday night lights at Basha High School included a grandiose entrance by a pair of skydivers delivering the game ball by parachuting onto the field.

It was hardly the most impressive highlight of the night.

No. 1 ranked Basha proved worthy of its top billing again, this time during a 55-10 demolition of visiting Mountain View in a 6A East Valley region contest.

Basha used its full display of offensive weaponry from the opening kickoff and never looked back.

Player of the game

Junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. guided the Basha offense with precision, throwing four touchdowns to three different receivers in the first half.

He also kept Mountain View’s young defense off balance with his speed and scrambling

Mason Arhin  hauled in a 35 yard strike early on, before tight end Patrick Green hauled in the next two touchdowns of six and 12 yards.

Williams Jr. finished with 214 passing yards.

Deshaun Buchanan added two rushing scores in the third quarter.

Big play Bears

Big scoring plays by Basha took away any shot Mountain View had of slowing the game down.

Senior Cole Martin took the opening kickoff 97 yards that deflated the Toro sideline.

Late in the second quarter, wideout Bryson Dedmon got past the Mountain View secondary, where Williams Jr. found him for an 81 yard scoring strike that all but sealed the game, as Basha took a 34-3 lead into halftime.

Quotes

“I’ve got a lot of weapons and I was able to use them tonight. Cole (Martin)’s kickoff return was huge for everyone.” — Basha quarterback Desmond Williams Jr.

Next week

Basha (4-0) travels to Glendale Cactus while Mountain View (1-3) heads to Scottsdale Chaparral.

Valley Christian rolls over Payson

By Damian Adams

Back in the day, commentators would use terms like, "three yards and a cloud of dust," to describe running plays. Friday’s game between Chandler Valley Christian and Payson started with that type of feel, as both teams wanted to establish themselves as the physical team.

In the end, it was Valley Christian that pulled away for a 58-34 home field win over the Longhorns.

Valley Christian entered the game ranked No. 6 in the Republic’s latest 3A Conference rankings, while Payson was ranked No. 10.

Key plays

Valley Christian struck first in that battle as they went up 7-0 to start the game after quarterback, Hunter Heeringa threw a 12-yard strike to Adam Bradford.

Payson would land a blow of their own as they came down the field and finished off their touchdown drive with a pass from Dexter Waterman to Gabriel Hilgendorf.

Hilgendorf was one of the few bright spots in this game for Payson as he played well on both sides of the ball.

But the Trojans eventually separated themselves in the second quarter, scoring 23 unanswered points, going up went up 30-6. Payson would try their best to come back but Valley had an answer for every run.

Valley Christian moved to 5-1 on the season, while Payson is 4-2 in the AIA 3A Conference.

Players of the Game

It’s difficult to single out one player from Valley Christian after such a complete team effort. am game. They ran the ball well, passed the ball well, defended the run and pass well. Game ball should be split between everyone on the Trojans.

Up Next

Next Friday night, Valley Christian visits Tempe while Payson will host Arizona Lutheran Academy.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Week 6 HS football roundup: Centennial, Highland score key wins