Photo: Team effort – Ruben Solano brings down Sierra Linda quarterback Camar Lee as Cody Hanna, Cole Gross, and Cian Mckelvey assist on Friday night
Varsity Football
In yet another twist of the Prescott Badgers 2022 season, the Badgers had to play another game in two days. This time at home, starting on homecoming night, in a week that washed out the parade and bonfire, but ended on a positive note Saturday with a 44-20 win over the road weary Sierra Linda Bulldogs.
Cody Leopold was the Badgers offensive star, rushing for 191 yards and five touchdowns, three on Friday and two on Saturday, as Prescott outscored the Bulldogs 24-zip on Saturday afternoon. Leopold said, “It’s pretty weird having to come out and respond to the adversity of playing a second day, with a tied ball game. We played our ball, we got better, and got away with the W. You could tell today that they were not the same team. They were a very physical team, but we were up for it. The line did a great job opening up some holes and giving me opportunities, something they have done all season.”
The oddity of playing a game in two days for a second time in a month was not a big deal. “Games like this say a lot about our team,” said senior Jake Hilton, who scored a second half TD. “We are all in, and we come out ready to play no matter when it is.”
Photo: Cody Leopold on his way to the first of his five touchdowns
Prescott jumped on top quickly as Cody Leopold scored on an 11 yard run barely a minute into the contest. Cole Gross added the extra digit for a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs responded on their very first offensive play as quarterback Camar Lee connected with wide receiver Stephon Daily on an 81 yard touchdown pass. The snap was bobbled on the extra point attempt keeping the score at 7-6 with 10:34 left in the first quarter.
Prescott recovered an onside kick by Sierra Linda, but the Badgers would cough up the ball, but in return would get it back on a pass interception by Uriah Tenette. Prescott eventually turned the ball over on downs when suddenly the visiting side stadium lights went off. Déjà vu to the game two weeks earlier with ALA-Gilbert North. Thirty-two minutes later the lights came back on and play resumed just after 8pm. The Badgers got the ball back as the Bulldogs were forced to punt. Leopold scored his second TD of the night on a six yard blast for a 14-6 lead to end first quarter.
Cian Mckelvey recovered a Bulldogs fumble at the Sierra Linda 40, on the first play from scrimmage for the Bulldogs in the second quarter. The Badgers offense scored again on another Leopold touchdown, from one yard out, to lead 20-6 with 9:30 left in the first half.
After another three and out by Sierra Linda, Prescott set the Bulldogs up when Jaxon Rice threw a pass interception, picked off by Aksel Covarrubias to the Badger 28, with 3:55 left in the second quarter. That is when the lights went off a second time. The twelve minute delay held up the game till 8:33 pm. After the delay, Sierra Linda scored on first play back, as Malek Brown scored on a 14 yard run. The two point pass attempt failed miserably as Bulldog coaches questioned their decision to go for two down by eight. Nonetheless, Prescott led 20-12.
Photo: Landen Francis wraps up quarterback Camar Lee forcing a fumble
A second Rice pass interception set up Sierra Linda yet again. The Bulldogs took advantage and scored on the pick six by Akhir Harris from 19 yards out. The two point conversion pass from Carr to Daily tied the score at 20 with 3:26 left. A kickoff and two plays later the lights went out for a third time. After roughly 20 minutes, there a decision to call the game for the night. An hour later it was revealed that the game would resume on Saturday at 3pm.
The Saturday reboot was a different story as the Badgers took advantage of a visibly sluggish Bulldog team, shutting them out, and outscoring the visitors by 24.
The Badgers started the day with the ball at the 49, moving it down field before the drive stalled. Cole Gross split the uprights for a 24 yard field goal and Prescott led 23-20. The Bulldogs offense became a broken record from this point forward as the Badger defense shut down Sierra Linda for the final 27 minutes of action. The teams went to opposite end zones for an abbreviated 10 minute halftime with the Badgers up by three.
Midway through the third quarter, Jake Hilton took the shovel pass from Maurea Norris and bolted down the near sideline 70 yards for a 30-20 lead. Leopold added his fourth touchdown with a four yard run to start the final quarter for a 37-20 lead. Leopold would score one final time on an eight yard run with 8:47 left for a 44-20 lead. Prescott went into victory formation inside the Bulldogs ten to run out the clock.
Jake Wright, who had a very good game defensively with six hard hitting tackles, two for negative yardage, said, ”Coach said to forget about yesterday and come out and just play. We were just quicker today on the snap and were able to get through the blocks and make some plays. The offense did the rest.” Other defensive standouts that wreaked havoc on Sierra Linda all evening/afternoon were Landen Francis, had seven tackles and a sack, Cody Hanna with five tackles, Leopold with 8 tackles, and Jake Wright were all impact players.
Cody Leopold has 602 yards rushing with 16 touchdowns on the season, after his season high 191 yard performance. Cian Mckelvey rushd for 79 yards and Maurea Norris had 62, and one carry by Uriah Tenette for 24 yards. Jake Hilton led the receivers with three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, Tenette pulled in a pair for 45 yards.
Prescott returns home to play on October 28 after two road games. Should be enough time to get the lights working properly again, with plenty of time to troubleshoot.
Sierra Linda, losers of three straight, drops to (3-3), and will be on the road again as they travel to play Thunderbird. The Badgers (4-1) will travel to play Flagstaff in the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University, on Friday at 7 pm, in their first Grand Canyon Region contest.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 44, SIERRA LINDA BULLDOGS 20
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Sierra Linda 6 14 0 0 – 20
Prescott 14 9 7 14 – 44
Scoring Summary
P-Leopold 11 yard run (Gross kick)
SL-Daily 81 yard pass from Lee (Attempt failed)
P-Leopold 6 yard run (Gross kick)
P-Leopold 1 yard run (Kick failed)
SL-Bowen 14 yard run (Pass failed)
SL-Harris 19 pass interception (Daily pass from Carr)
P- Gross 24 yard Field Goal
P-Hilton 70 yard pass from Norris (Gross kick)
P-Leopold 4 yard run (Gross kick)
P-Leopold 8 yard run (Gross kick)
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
PRESCOTT 0-0 4-1
Mingus 0-0 4-1
Lee Williams 0-0 3-2
Bradshaw Mountain 0-0 2-3
Coconino 0-0 2-3
Flagstaff 0-0 2-3
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SCOREBOARD
Bradshaw Mountain 37, Thunderbird 8
Chino Valley 36, Parker 34
Bagdad 38, Lincoln Prep 28
El Capitan 50, Mayer 10
Apache Junction 45, Lee Williams 12
Benjamin Franklin 35, Glendale 21
Buckeye 55, Estrella Foothills 7
Cactus 47, Peoria 20
Carl Hayden 63, Douglas 19
Flagstaff 51, Washington 28
Greenway 27, Gila Ridge 14
Mingus 34, Deer Valley 0
Mogollon 36, Williams 24
Northwest Christian 31, Coconino 28
Show Low 50, Blue Ridge 7
St. Mary’s 27, Poston Butte 12
Varsity Badminton
The Badgers continue to fly through their season with a pair of wins to improve to (12-0). Sweeping wins over Saguaro and Shadow Mountain kept the Badgers on top. Monday will be a very big match, not for region purposes, but playing against an undefeated AZ College Prep, also (12-0). Start time is noon at Prescott High School.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 9, SHADOW MOUNATIN MATADORS 0
SINGLES RESULTS
#1 Megan Townsend won 21-14, 21-14 over Linda Dinh
#2 Riley Crockett won 21-14, 21-5 over Stephanie Judd
#3 Elle Long won 21-6, 21-9 over Ava Strichartz
#4 Lindsay Carter won 21-17, 24-22 over Joanna Diaz
#5 Lauren Farley won 21-6, 21-12 over Robin Nowacki
#6 Calli Naylor won 21-10, 21-8 over Clara Wardlow
DOUBLES RESULTS
#1 Crockett/Long won 21-7, 21-13 over Judd/Dinh
#2 Townsend/Carter won 21-9, 21-8 over Nowacki/Diaz
#3 Naylor/Lauren Farley won 23-21, 21-10 over Strichartz/Wardlow
DIVISION II NORTHWEST STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
PRESCOTT 7-0 12-0
Chaparral 6-1 11-1
Horizon 5-2 10-2
Paradise Valley 5-2 8-4
Deer Valley 4-3 8-4
Shadow Mountain 3-5 8-5
North Canyon 2-6 4-9
Barry Goldwater 0-6 2-10
Saguaro 0-7 2-10
Varsity Volleyball
The Badgers came very close to sweeping the visitors from Mingus, but the Marauders rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the final three games for a 3-2 match victory. Prescott will host Mohave on Monday at 6pm.
MINGUS MARAUDERS 3, PRESCOTT BADGERS 2
Games- 1 2 3 4 5
Mingus 21 23 25 25 15
Prescott 25 25 21 15 10
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Flagstaff 6-0 7-5
Bradshaw Mountain 6-1 8-4
Coconino 4-4 6-7
Lee Williams 3-3 5-4
Mingus 3-4 5-6
Mohave 1-6 2-7
PRESCOTT 1-6 1-11
SCOREBOARD
Bradshaw Mountain 3, Lee Williams 2
Flagstaff 3, Coconino 1
