Prep Football Notebook
Holiday pushes up games a day - Local prep football teams in action Thursday to observe Jewish holiday
by Jason Stone

The three North Valley prep football teams will suit up a night early this week.

Boulder Creek, Cactus Shadows and Sandra Day O’Connor will each honor the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana by playing Thursday games.

The Jaguars will try to rebound from last week’s blowout loss against Flagstaff with a home game against Kellis, another first‑year program. Cactus Shadows, meanwhile, travels to Scottsdale to play Coronado, while O’Connor hosts Deer Valley in the first Northwest Region game of the season.

Injuries mounting at Boulder Creek

Injuries are never good for any team, but for first‑year programs like Boulder Creek, they’re especially devastating. The Jaguars have already lost three key starters to major injuries and are playing with others at less than 100 percent.

Junior Mason Maki tore an ACL in the first minutes of the season opener at O’Connor, sidelining him for the season. In Game 2 at Silverado (Nev.), junior Alex Carlson suffered a season‑ending injury. Then early in the third game at Chaparral, defensive leader Matt Kroll saw his senior season go up in smoke when he tore an MCL in a knee when hit by another Jaguar player.

Kroll found out prior to last week’s home opener that he will miss at least six weeks and possibly the season if it turns out he needs surgery.

“I can’t believe it happened,” Kroll said. “It is my senior season. We keep blowing out knees around here.”

Gorraiz goes to top of the league

Cactus Shadows senior running back Eric Gorraiz enters the week as the Wells Fargo 2 Region leader in rushing and scoring. Through four games, Gorraiz has 445 rushing yards and has scored a combined eight touchdowns rushing and receiving. He is on pace to break 1,000 yards for the season again, despite playing only parts of games because of blowouts.

Not playing the majority of time in the second half has affected the stat sheet for Falcons quarterback Phillip Aholt. The senior is off his pace from last year, when he threw for more than 2,800 yards. Aholt has thrown for 755 yards through four games, good enough for third in the Wells Fargo 2 and fourth in the state at any level.

Aholt is in good company among region quarterbacks. Washington’s Jon Bowman and Sunnyslope’s Sean Maraz are the state’s top two passers in total yards.

Falcons senior wide receiver Kyle Watkins (13 catches, 358 yards) is fifth in the state in receiving yards.

Nice to meet you–again

The reunions continue in the Northwest Region this week. First, Boulder Creek coach Scott Heideman faced his alma mater in Flagstaff High last week in a 66‑0 loss. This week, O’Connor coach Rick Mey will coach against Deer Valley, the team Mey led until leaving to start the Eagles’ program. O’Connor beat the Skyhawks’ last year 42‑10 in Mey’s first meeting against his former team.

Reach the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com.