Badgers Battle Back To Down Apache Junction 35-28: First road playoff win since 2006

Photo: 72 Landen Francis leads the way as 24 Cody Leopold scores his third touchdown. Leopold wore number 34 in the second half because his 24 jersey got torn in the first half

Cody Leopold returned to full time duty scoring three touchdowns, while rushing for 154 yards  in an exciting 35-28 comeback win at Apache Junction. The Badgers (9-2) entered the game as the underdog #10 seed, versus the #7 Prospectors. The road playoff win was the Badgers first road win since November 10, 2006 when Prescott beat Independence 20-13 in Glendale. Last season the Badgers got their first playoff win since 2006 over Bradshaw Mountain 14-7, at home.

Apache Junction took the opening kick and was able to burn up over half the first quarter on a 14 play, 70 yard drive, capped off with a one yard run by quarterback Gavin Limongello. Nick Avalos Lara added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The Badgers moved the ball down to the AJ 26, but that is where the drive stalled. The Prospectors wasted no time as Limongello made a great fake to pull the Prescott defensive back up, and threw a strike to Ben Venezuela who took it 74 yards for the touchdown. Just like that the Badgers were in the hole, 14-0 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.

A promising drive ended with a Badger fumble at the Apache Junction 30. The Prescott defense came up with their first stop of the night, forcing a 46 yard punt by Dennis Church, giving the ball back to Prescott at their own 20. A good mix of play calls on the ground, and through the air, produced dividends on the 80 yard drive as Cody Leopold put the Badgers on the scoreboard with a four yard run. Cole Gross added the extra point trimming the deficit to 14-7 with five minutes left in the first half.

Photo: 1 Cian Mckelvey was brought down by 1 Isiah Savoie and 5 Elijah Edwards after a big run

Another defensive stop gave Prescott the ball back at their own 20, with 3:08 left in the quarter. After a 17 yard pass from Rice to Hilton, Cian Mckelvey nearly broke it, going 42 yards down the center of the field, finally being brought down at the AJ 24. The Badgers got the equalizer to close out the first half when Leopold got his second touchdown on a one yard run.

The Badgers took the second half kickoff down to the Prospectors 15 before turning the ball over on downs. Prescott got the ball right back as Cole Gross stepped in front of the receiver on the near sideline to intercept the ball at the AJ 31. Gross said, “I was just able to get into a good position on the play, and get the ball back for us. It was a big momentum changer and the team came through. Our “O” line did a great job and the “D” got the stops when we really needed to.”

Photo:  4 Jake Hilton works for more yardage after the catch before being brought down by  Dennis Church

A 19 yard pass from Jaxon Rice to Jake Hilton put the ball at the Prospectors 12, but Hilton was pulled down awkwardly ending the receivers’ night.  Hilton said, “He was fighting to pull me down and had a hold of my jersey as I was trying to get more yards. Our legs got tangled up as we went down.” Hilton ended the night with five receptions for 67 yards.

Tenette picked up a great block by Tyson Gillette to score from three yards out for a 21-14 lead with 5:59 left in the third quarter. AJ came back going 77 yards to tie the game on a one yard run by Limongello.

Photo: 24 Cody Leopold with some open space after getting some key blocks including 66 Greg Bickel

Leopold scored on a nine yard run for his 28^th rushing touchdown this season to put Prescott up 28-21 near the end of the third quarter.

The Prospectors kept the ball on the ground, going 70 yards, capped off by a 21 yard run by Limongello, for the fourth tie of the game, 28-28 with 10:47 remaining.

What turned out to be the final score of the game on an unusual play that came on a third and goal at the five yard line. Levi Vandyke made a huge fumble recovery in the end zone for the go ahead touchdown with 5:24 remaining after Uriah Tenette fumbled the ball inside the three yard line. The ball went into the end zone. Vandyke, who also had two receptions for 12 yards said, “We had a great play called and I thought Uriah was going to get into the end zone, but then the ball popped out, and I jumped on it. I was in the right place at the right time. We play hard and for each other, and whatever we have to do we will. There is no quit in this team and looking forward to next week.” That was the second time this season that Vandyke has made that play.

The Prospectors had their site set on another game tying touchdown moving the ball to the Prescott 27, but that went awry. Cody Leopold picked up the fumble by Limongello after he was met in the backfield by Ryan Smith and Wyatt Rewarts came right behind to knock the ball loose. Leopold moved the ball up the field to the Badger 45 with three minutes left.

Prescott was able to run out the clock for the playoff road win. Leopold, who rushed for 154 yards on 30 carries had three touchdowns said, “Good game. Tough opponent. We worked through the adversity coming back from 14.” On his return, “I battled to get back for tonight. I’m not the type to stand around with an injury, so I was anxious to get back out there.” Cian Mckelvey, who had filled in for Leopold exceptionally the past three weeks, had 65 yards on just six carries. Triple threat, Uriah Tenette had 11 carries for 74 yards, and caught seven passes for 61 yards. Jaxon Rice was very consistent, connecting on 15-19 for 150 yards, doing a great job of keeping the Apache Junction defense off balance.

AJ leading rusher Isaiah Savoie rushed for 190 yards on 22 carries, but surprisingly no touchdowns. Quarterback Gavin Limongello ran for 58 yards and completed 8-11 for 122 yards and one big interception. Ben Venezuela caught six passes for 102 yards and a TD.

Despite giving up over 300 yards of total offense the Badger “D” hung tough and came up with some big plays when needed. Landen Francis had another good game on both sides of the ball, finishing with six tackles, said, ”We knew we needed to contain #1 and #8, and I think we did a pretty good job with that. We knew we could come back and not get our heads down. We had more momentum after coming back to tie, and with that end of the half sack. At halftime we fixed a couple things to switch it up, and I think it worked pretty good.” Cody Hanna led with 10 tackles and Jake Wright also had six.

The reward for the win is a trip to Snowflake in the quarterfinal matchup next Friday at 7pm. The Lobos (8-3) knocked out Arcadia 19-0. Snowflake beat Bradshaw Mountain in Prescott Valley 19-3 back on September 30 for the Bears last loss to this point. Apache Junction ends their season at (7-4).

PRESCOTT BADGERS  35, APACHE JUNCTION PROSPECTORS 28

Score by Quarters-   1         2         3         4     –     T

Prescott                      0       14       14        7     –    35

Apache Junction      14        0         7         7     –    28

Scoring Summary

AJ-Limongello 1 yard run (Avalos Lara kick)

AJ-Venezuela 74 yard pass from Limongello (Avalos Lara kick)

P-Leopold 4 yard run (Gross kick)

P-Leopold 1 yard run (Gross kick)

P-Tenette 3 yard run (Gross kick)

AJ-Limongello 1 yard run (Avalos Lara kick)

P-Leopold 9 yard run (Gross kick)

AJ-Limongello 21 yard run (Avalos Lara kick)

P-Vandyke fumble recovery (Gross kick)

PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD

4A First Round

Bradshaw Mountain 23, Northwest Christian 13

ALA-Gilbert North 48, AZ College Prep 10

Canyon Del Oro 13, St. Mary’s 7

Lake Havasu 42, Poston Butte 24

Snowflake 19, Arcadia 0

Thunderbird 17, Marcos de Niza 14

Yuma Catholic 56, Buckeye Union 42

5A First Round

Cactus 21, Willow Canyon 14

Desert Edge 42, Central 7

Desert Mountain 38. Verrado 7

Higley 49, Canyon View 12

Horizon 49, Gilbert 0

Marana 26, Sunnyslope 17

Millennium 17, Campo Verde 10

Notre Dame Prep 42, Paradise Valley 19

6A First Round

Casteel 70, Cesar Chavez 30

Highland 57, Perry 22

Mesa 24, Corona del Sol 21

Mountain Pointe 42, Mountain Ridge 41

Queen Creek 37, Boulder Creek 7

Pinnacle 46, Valley Vista 0

Red Mountain 45, Brophy Prep 38

Salpointe Catholic 36, Williams Field 33, OT

3A Semifinals

Eastmark 45, Pusch Ridge 10

Thatcher 21, Show Low 7

2A Semifinals

Morenci 71, Scottsdale Christian 40

Pima 35, Willcox 7

1A Championship

Mogollon 51, Williams 22