Badgers Beat Lee Williams 19-7 for First Playoff Win

Photo: 9 Maggie Maneely (far right) celebrates with her teammates after her third quarter pick-six

The Prescott Badgers opened up the AIA Division 4 playoffs with a 19-7 win over the Lee Williams Volunteers on a cold night at Bill Shepard Field.

Defenses ruled the roost in the first half as the Badgers were able to get enough offense to take the lead on a pair of field goals by Delainey Courtney, building a 6-0 lead at the half. The first of the two kicks came on the opening possession with a 33 yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The other field goal of 27 yards came with 2:44 left in the half.

Photo: 17 Alyssa Wilkerson puts pressure on the Lee Williams quarterback

In the third quarter, Prescott pinned Lee Williams back inside their own 20 yard line and were ready for an opportunity. The defense got Badgers their first touchdown with 5:17 in the third when Maggie Maneely jumped the route for her second interception of the game, taking this one to the house for a very quick 12 yard pick-six. The kick for the extra point hit the left upright so hard it shimmed for a good thirty seconds, but Prescott now held a 12-0 lead.

Photo: 8 Aubrey Kitahata with one of her three catches to extend a drive in the third quarter

Lee Williams continued to struggle on offense and the Badgers were finally able to put a touchdown scoring drive together. Rianna Aguilar took the ball the final yard and a good kick made it 19-0 with just 3:46 left.

The Volunteers, which has no team roster listed anywhere, bright moment came on the very next play when their backup quarterback threw a pass to the wide receiver and ran the last 50 yards on a 70 pass play. The extra point made it 19-7 with 3:35 remaining.

Photo: 5 Lucy Zembrik with the game clinching pass interception

Lee Williams elected to go for an “onside kick” which is nothing like it sounds. It means that the offense has one play to gain 15 yards in order to keep the ball. The Volunteers pass was picked off by Lucy Zembik and the Badgers ran off the remaining time on the clock for the win to improve to (13-0) on the season.

Zembik said, “Coach said to stay deep so I did. The pass came my way and I just went and got it. I think our team work tonight was the difference. We just kept at it and were able to find things that worked for us and to get the win.”

Photo: 2 Allana Gilray kept busy on offense and defense that included punting duties

Allana Gilray said, “Lee Williams had an amazing defensive line and we struggled to get past then finally were able to work through it.” About being undefeated and highly ranked all season Gillray said, “There is a tremendous amount of pressure with the expectations that come with being undefeated and being ranked so high. If we fall before making it all the way through it would be disappointing to say the least. We have one down and three too go.”

Coach Ryan Hart said, ”We came in wanting to run the ball but they had some athletes in the box. They really locked in on us and played their hearts out. They were able to keep us out of the end zone in the first half, but in the second half we were able to figure some things out and get the offense going. It’s playoff football and you’re not going to run it down anybody’s throat too much.” In regards to the Badgers star kicker Delainey Courtney, Hart added, “Delainey got us the lead and it is great to know that whenever you’re inside the thirty, you have a very good chance of getting points. She is an absolute superstar and always ready to go.”

Quarterback Rianna Aguilar rushed for 74 yards including the only offensive touchdown and completed 12 of 21 passes for 117 yards. Six different receivers caught passes led by Allana Gilray with six catches. Delainey Courtney led the defense with 12 tackles.

Next up for the #2 seeded Badgers is quarterfinal matchup with #7 Benjamin Franklin Chargers, who knocked off Mingus 28-7. The two teams have one common opponent in Higley, which the Badgers beat 35-20, and Benjamin Franklin lost 27-21. The game is at 2pm Saturday at Prescott High School.

PRESCOTT BADGERS 19, LEE WILLIAMS VOLUNTEERS 7

Score by Quarters-  1        2         3        4    –    T

Lee Williams             0        0         0        7    –    7

Prescott                     3        3         6        7    –   19

Scoring Summary

P-Courtney 33 yard Field Goal

P-Courtney 27 yard Field Goal

P-Maneely 12 yard pass interception return (Kick failed)

LW-70 pass play (Kick good)

P-Aguilar 1 yard run (Courtney kick)

SCOREBOARD-DIVISION 4A

Prescott 19, Lee Williams 7

Benjamin Franklin 28, Mingus 7

Coconino 38, Westview 0

Eastmark 14, Crismon 7

Heritage Academy Laveen 16, Flagstaff 7

Mesquite 7, St. John Paul II  0

Scottsdale Christian 16, Deer Valley 7

St. Mary’s 19, Arcadia 7

4A Division Quarterfinal Round Games-Saturday, November 16, 2pm

#7 Benjamin Franklin (11-2) at #2 Prescott (13-0)

#9 Eastmark (8-5) at #1 St. Mary’s (11-0)

#5 Scottsdale Christian (11-1) at #4 Heritage Academy Laveen (11-1)

#6 Coconino (11-3) at #3 Mesquite (10-1)

Semifinals- at Higher Seed, Wednesday November 20, 6pm

Championship- Saturday, November 23, Noon, at Chandler High School