Jaguars shock Knights in 3 OTs
Boulder Creek 23, St. Mary’s 20
by Jason Stone

ANTHEM – In the short history of the Boulder Creek High School football program only four times has the team walked away a winner. But none of them came close to the victory the Jaguars achieved last week against historic St. Mary’s High School.

In fact, it was so big it might prove to be one of the bigger games for a long time.

“I would definitely say it was the biggest win for this program,” coach Dan Friedman, said, stating the obvious. “We put ourselves on the map with that win.”

In what will be remembered  in Anthem like Appalachian State University will remember a trip to Michigan, Boulder Creek needed three overtimes and a lot of heart to pull out a 23‑20 victory, opening eyes across he entire state.

“Teams will be ready for us now,” Friedman said. “We have their attention.”

After a 3‑3 deadlock through regulation, the teams matched each other with touchdowns in the first and second overtimes.

In the third OT, two false start penalties hindered St. Mary’s  and forced the Knights to only get a field goal. Needing a touchdown to win, Boulder Creek did just that as Taylor Davis rumbled in from 6 yards out on third down, setting off a wild celebration with Boulder Creek players, coaches and fans.

Making the victory even more improbably were the chances St. Mary’s blew. Like the University of Michigan in its major upset loss to Appalachian State, the Knights missed two fourth‑quarter field goals that would have won the game.

Boulder Creek also survived a big miscue of its own. The Jaguars were driving for a go‑ahead touchdown with less than a minute before halftime but fumbled at the St. Mary’s 2. Instead of that opportunity hurting the Jaguars, however, St. Mary’s was unable to capitalize on it.

The Knights were playing their first game, but Boulder Creek had already played in a 51‑0 blowout of Valley Vista the week before.

“I think it absolutely helped us playing a game first,” Friedman said. “(St. Mary’s) had a lot of key penalties and mistakes–that was (typical) in a first game.”

St. Mary’s might have also been caught looking ahead, as Mesa power Mountain View High School is up next for the Knights.

“I’m sure they were looking past us,” Friedman said. “They have a very tough schedule, so they were probably overlooking us.”

Teams won’t be overlooking Boulder Creek now. The Jaguars next play at Desert Mountain High School, a passing team that plays an opposite style of St. Mary’s, which only attempted two passes.