Badgers Find A Way While Bears Come Up Short

Photo: 18 James Hefferin threw an early touchdown pass to tie the game in the first quarter

The Prescott Badgers needed a last minute touchdown and a two point conversion to beat the Northwest Christian Crusaders 22-21 in Phoenix.

The ending of this game was similar to the game the Badgers won two years ago on this same field, but then it was Northwest Christian going for two and the win, but failing in the attempt giving the Badgers a 42-41 win. Last year the Crusaders won 50-36 at Prescott.

Both offenses started off hot with the Crusaders leading 14-7 after one quarter. Prescott scored their touchdown on a 28 yard TD pass from quarterback James Hefferin to Henry Hampton.

Northwest scored on an opening drive touchdown run by Connor Main and then on a 48 yard touchdown pass from Luke Pearson to Landon Beckman.

Prescott tied the game at 14 when Brady Costes added the extra point after a short run by Brody Hanna. That would be it for the scoring till the fourth quarter.

Pearson found Beckman on a 13 yard scoring strike to go on top 21-14 with just under seven minutes remaining.

Prescott used their final possession to methodically move the ball behind their big offensive line and scored when Hanna used a big block by Elijah Carr to get within 21-20 with just :28 left, then rolled the dice and went for two, running the ball in for a 22-21 lead that was the final score.

The Crusaders were led by their QB Landon Pearson who threw for 322 yards and 2 touchdowns completing 21 of 40 passes. The Badgers defense allowed only 88 yards on the ground with Deebo Vitale leading that department with 33 yards. Landon Beckman had a big game with 6 catches for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. No other stats were made available.

Northwest Christian fell to (2-1) and will host Gila Ridge. The Badgers (3-0) will return home to open Grand Canyon Region play with Lee Williams who are also (3-0).

PRESCOTT BADGERS 22, NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS 21

Score by Quarters-     1        2        3        4    –    T

Prescott                      7        7        0        8    –    22

Northwest Christian   14       0        0        7    –    21

Scoring Summary

NWC-Main 1 yard run (Chavez kick)

P-Hampton 28 yard pass from Hefferin (Costes kick)

NWC-Beckman 48 yard pass from Pearson (Chavez kick)

P-Hanna 3 yard run (Costes kick)

NWC-Beckman 13 yard pass from Pearson (Chavez kick)

P-Hanna 4 yard run (Hanna run)

Bradshaw Mountain at Snowflake

It was a battle between number one Snowflake and three Bradshaw Mountain and it went down to the wire with Snowflake holding on to a 17-10 win as two very good teams battled it out in eastern Arizona.

Rain fell off and on during the contest as the Lobos built a 7-3 halftime lead. The only touchdown in the half came when Snowflake quarterback Maverick Greer connected with Colter Willis on his only catch of the night on a 41 yard pass play. The Bears only points came on a 39 yard field goal by Caden Dabney.

The Lobos lead grew to 14-3 midway through the third quarter on a touchdown run by Brenner Green, his only carry of the game. 

The Bears defense stood their ground in their fourth quarter holding the Lobos to a field goal to keep it a two score game as McCoy Norton added a 29 yard field goal to push the lead to 17-3 with a little more than four minutes to play.

Bradshaw Mountain quickly moved the ball down the field, using only a little over a minute to get their first touchdown of the game. Taye Evans hit Caden Dabney on a 34 yard scoring strike to pull within 17-10 with 3:34 left.

The Lobos had a chance to run out the clock but the Snowflake QB lost the ball. Joey Estrada recovered a fumble with two minutes to play giving the Bears the ball at the Snowflake 45.

On 4th and 7, Evans looked to throw but could not find a receiver so he took off but was stopped a half yard short by Lobos linebacker Otto Mills. 

Snowflake took over with 1:23 left and with Bradshaw Mountain with only one timeout, the Lobos ran the clock out.

For the Bears, Evans completed 12 of 26 for 138 yards and a touchdown but had a pair of interceptions. Jon’te Jones rushed for 96 yards on 26 carries. Dabney had 5 catches for 70 yards and the TD. The Lobos were led by Maverick Greer with 105 passing yards and a touchdown. Brenner Green led the ground game with 166 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown.

Snowflake remains unbeaten at (3-0) while the Bears fall to (2-1). Next up, Bradshaw Mountain makes a shorter trip over the mountain to face the Mingus Marauders in the Grand Canyon region opener for both schools. Snowflake travels to Estrella Foothills. Both games are Friday at 7pm.

SNOWFLAKE LOBOS 17, BRADSHAW MOUNTAIN BEARS 3

Score by Quarters-     1        2        3        4    –     T

Bradshaw Mountain    0        3        0        7    –    10

Snowflake                   7        0        7        3    –    17

Scoring Summary

S-C. Willis 41 yd pass from Greer (Norton kick)

BM-Dabney 39 yd Field Goal

S-Green 14 yard run (Norton kick)

S-Norton 29 yd Field Goal

BM-Dabney 34 yard pass from Evans (Dabney kick)

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS SCOREBOARD

Prescott 22, Northwest Christian 21

Snowflake 17, Bradshaw Mountain 10

Chino Valley 36, Cortez 34

Coconino 61, Washington 0

Gila Ridge 48, Buckeye 46

Lee Williams 17, Lake Havasu 0

Mesquite 30, Maryvale 28

Mica Mountain 49, ALA-West Foothills 21

Poston Butte 24, Paradise Honors 14

River Valley 76, Mohave 0

St. Mary’s 45, Empire 2

Tempe 41, Flagstaff 14

Williams 61, Pahranagat Valley (Nevada) 36

Youngker 6, Mingus 0

Thursday Scores

Mayer 48, Sedona Red Rock 38

Arcadia 56, Moon Valley 6

Deer Valley 48, Greenway 18

Peoria 41, Sahuaro 13

Thunderbird 42, Independence 7