Prep Football Roundup

Injured Falcons still roll big
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – No Kyle Watkins. No Eric Gorraiz. No problem.

It seems no matter who the Cactus Shadows football team throws out on the field, the Falcons get the job done.

Cactus Shadows continued its dream season Oct. 20 by routing region‑foe Bradshaw Mountain 31‑6 despite missing key players Watkins and Gorraiz to injury.

The Falcons jumped out 17‑0 and quarterback Phillip Aholt tossed four touchdown passes to help Cactus Shadows improve to 9‑0 overall, 2‑0 in the Wells Fargo Region, and No. 1 in the 4A‑Division II power points poll.

Aholt, one of the state’s best passers, got the Falcons on the board in the first quarter with a 6‑yard scoring strike to Kyle Royer. The lead was extended to 14‑0 in the second quarter on an Aholt‑to‑Paul Skelton 20‑yard scoring strike. Royer’s 29‑yard field goal before halftime made it 17‑0.

It took less than two minutes in the third quarter for Cactus Shadows to extend their lead. Aholt passed 31 yards to Matt Williams for the third touchdown pass of the night and a 24‑0 lead.

Bradshaw Mountain, whose offense exploded last year against the Falcons in a 65‑50 win, was held off the scoreboard for the first 32 minutes of the game. Cactus Shadows’ defense racked up 6‑1/2 sacks and its offense allowed only one.

Aholt finished the night with 216 passing yards on 19‑of‑28 attempts. In place of Gorraiz, Johnny Barro (65 yards) and Tyler Hames (60 yards) picked up the slack. Without Watkins, Royer was the team’s top receiver with eight catches for 57 yards.

Cactus Shadows next travels to Scottsdale to play Notre Dame at Scottsdale Community College. With a win and a Washington victory over Sunnyslope, the Falcons will clinch the region championship with one game remaining.

Jaguars narrowly fall in homecoming game

ANTHEM – Boulder Creek coach Scott Heideman felt the growing pains of a first‑year team last week when the Jaguars blew a 27‑14 second‑half lead in a 28‑27 loss to Maricopa on homecoming.

Cody Witherrite rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns for Boulder Creek, but Maricopa took the ball the length of the field in the final minutes and scored with 45 seconds remaining in the game to grab the victory.

“We just can’t finish,” Heideman said. “We just can’t close it off. We’re getting close.”

The Jaguars (2‑6) saw their two‑game winning streak snapped. Maricopa, a 2A Conference team, improved to 3‑6.

Boulder Creek racked up 275 rushing yards and had two 100‑plus‑yard rushers as Devin Contreras racked up 112 yards on 13 carries but for the second time this year, the Jaguars blew a big second‑half lead at home.

“We just didn’t have an answer for them at the end,” Heideman said.

Boulder Creek next hosts 4A Pinnacle Friday night.

Goldwater blasts O’Connor 40‑0

NORTH VALLEY – Goldwater rushed for 423 yards and scored early and often in a 40‑0 rout of Sandra Day O’Connor last week.

The Bulldogs (4‑4 overall, 3‑1 Northwest Region) brightened its playoff hopes and advanced to No. 6 in the latest 5A‑Division II power point standings, which will be used to seed teams for next month’s 16‑team playoff field.

Three players rushed for at least 100 yards–C.J. Morgan (126), Bob Tomas (118), and Aaron Thomas (100)–and Goldwater handed O’Connor its third shutout of the year.

The Eagles (4‑5, 1‑4) fell far out of playoff contention with the loss and will likely not go after qualifying for the first time ever last year.