Badgers Upset by Gila Ridge, Bears Advance

Photo:11 Bryce Coston on his way to a 39 yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter

The Prescott Badgers undefeated season came to an end with a 35-34 upset loss to the Gila Ridge Hawks.

The Hawks (9-2) coming in and ranked #13 picked apart the Prescott secondary most of the night in a game which they did not ever trail.

Gila Ridge opened up the scoring on their second possession when Daughtry Phillips scored from 6 yards out. The game started with Jace Crockett recovering a Hawks fumble but Prescott gave it right back on  the very next play when Badgers quarterback James Hefferin was picked off by Angel Martinez and returned it to the Prescott 16 yard line.

Photo:24 Jeremyah Villanueva scored a touchdown in the first quarter

The Badgers responded with big run plays by Jeremiah Villanueva and Bryce Coston to get the ball down the Hawks four yard line. Villanueva finished the game tying drive with a 4 yard run with a minute left in the opening quarter.

The Hawks went on top 14-7 early in the second quarter when quarterback Isaac Soliz connected on a 52 yard pass to Marquez.

Prescott came back to tie the game again at 14 on a Brody Hanna 44 yard run with 2;02 on the clock.

Gila Ridge went right back to the air and again went on top 21-14 on a 33 yard pass to Jack Hayes. The Badgers attempted  a pass that was picked off by Marquez with just two seconds left. Prescott returned the favor when Crockett picked off his first of the night in the end zone to end the first half.

Photo:7 Braylon Johnson

The Badgers received the second half kickoff but the offense sputtered and were forced to punt.

The Hawks once again went to the air and a 21 yard pass to Hayes added seven more for a 28-14 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Photo:84 Eli Allen gets out of bounds to stop the clock

Coston broke through the middle and took it 47 yards  at the end of the third to bring the Badgers to within 28-21.

Gila Ridge took that two score lead again at 35-21 on another pass play this time to Nohea Wiggins and it was not looking good for the home team.

The Badgers gave up the ball and all the Hawks had to do was burn clock, but with a little over five minutes left, they put the ball in the air and Jace Crockett stepped in front of Jack Hayes and took it the other way to the house, 80 yards, and all of a sudden it was 35-28 with plenty of time and three timeouts remaining.

The shock factor took over for the Hawks as the momentum had switched and the home crowd was back into the game. A rare three and out by the Hawks set the stage for what could have been a near repeat performance of two weeks ago in the game at Bradshaw Mountain.

Bryce Coston broke free and went on a 39 yard run to close the deficit to 35-34. Prescott elected to go for the two point conversion and did so with Brody Hanna in the “Devil” formation. Hanna took the direct snap and went to the left side but came up just a couple inches short.

An onside kick failed and all Gila Ridge had to do was run out the clock. After three Badger timeouts, a first down run ended what was a shortened memorable season for Prescott Badger football. Gila Ridge (10-2) will move on to the quarterfinal round to face Walden Grove as the Badgers finish at (10-1).

This year was only the third season Prescott has gone 10-0 in the regular season. The other two were 1988 and 1993. It is unfortunate that this season came to an end so quickly.

GILA RIDGE HAWKS 35, PRESCOTT BADGERS 34

Score by Quarters-    1        2         3        4    –    T

Gila Ridge                  7       14        7        7    –   35

Prescott                      7        7         7      13    –   34

Scoring Summary

GR-Phillips 6 yard run (Frisch kick)

P-Villanueva 4 yard run (Costes kick)

GR-Marquez 52 yard pass from Soliz (Frisch kick)

P-Hanna 44 yard run (Costes kick)

GR-Hayes 33 yard pass from Soliz (Frisch kick)

GR-Hayes 21 yard pass from Soliz (Frisch kick)

P-Coston 47 yard run (Costes kick)

GR-Wiggins 13 yard pass from Soliz (Frisch kick)

P-Crockett 80 yard pass interception return (Costes kick)

P-Coston 39 yard run (Run failed)

Bradshaw Mountain Bears 

Photo: 1 Andrew Van Dell is ready to bring down the Maryvale runner

The Bradshaw Mountain Bears advanced with a 35-21 win over the Maryvale Panthers in Prescott Valley. Bears quarterback Taye Evans threw a 70 yard touchdown pass to Caden Dabney in the final minutes to secure the win. 

The #4 Bears (8-3) will host #5 Northwest Christian (9-2) on Friday at 7pm.

In other Grand Canyon Region team action, the Coconino Panthers were tied 7-7 with #1 Snowflake late in the second quarter, but the Lobos scored on a pass play with :09 left in the second quarter to lead 14-7. They added two more touchdowns in the third to lead 28-7 and ended up winning 38-7.

The Lee Williams Volunteers led most of their playoff matchup behind another strong game by running back Lucas Leist versus St. Mary’s Knights at Saguaro High School, but failed to score after leading 34-27 midway through the final quarter, falling 40-34.

DIVISION 4A SECOND ROUND SCOREBOARD

#14 Gila Ridge 35, #3 Prescott 34

#4 Bradshaw Mountain 35, #13 Maryvale 21

#2 Mica Mountain 41, #15 Thunderbird 0

#4 Northwest Christian 38, #21 Sierra Linda 7

#8 Peoria 30, #9 Arcadia 13

#1 Snowflake 38, #16 Coconino 7

#7 St. Mary’s 40, #10 Lee Williams 34

#6 Walden Grove 24, #11 Eastmark 21

QUARTERFINALS- Friday, November 20 at 7pm

#5 Northwest Christian (9-2) at #4 Bradshaw Mountain (8-3)

#8 Peoria (9-2) at #1 Snowflake (11-0)

#14 Gila Ridge (10-2) at #6 Walden Grove (9-2)

#7 St. Mary’s (9-2) at #2 Mica Mountain (10-1)