#2 Arcadia Remains Undefeated with Convincing Win Over #15 Deer Valley

The battle of undefeated teams was played Thursday night when the #15-ranked Deer Valley Skyhawks took on the #2-ranked Arcadia Titans. 

Only one team could continue its undefeated season, and it ended up being Arcadia, which took down Deer Valley 28-3.

The game started slowly for both sides.

On the opening drive of the game, Arcadia marched down the field and even ended up on Deer Valley’s 10-yard line.

The drive went south, though, when Arcadia senior RB Ryan Jimenez fumbled the ball and Deer Valley sophomore DL Brayden Bowman recovered it.

Deer Valley couldn’t do much of anything with the possession, and the score was still 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Skyhawks were able to put up the first points on the board. 

Deer Valley junior kicker Austan Chaves was the one to get the points as he nailed a 41-yard field goal for his team. 

After a slow start in the early goings in the game, Arcadia head coach B.J. Pasquel knew his team needed a response. 

“Sometimes it takes a little bit to get going,” Pasquel said. “They got the field goal, but then we had to respond, and the kids did.” 

Once they trailed in the game, a light switch turned on for the entire team, and they didn’t turn it off. 

Immediately after letting up the field goal, Arcadia marched right down the field. 

One of the key plays was when Arcadia senior wide receiver Ian Slater made an acrobatic catch for 19 yards. It was a catch that not many high school players can make.

The drive was capped off by Jimenez, who ran the ball in for a 7-yard touchdown, and Arcadia had its first points and lead of the contest. 

It didn’t take long for the Titans to get the ball back, and in back-to-back drives, they were able to get down the field. 

This star of the drive was Arcadia senior quarterback Zach Smith. Smith used his legs on multiple occasions to move the sticks. He then scored on a QB sneak from one yard out. 

Arcadia held a 14-3 lead heading into halftime.

One thing was for sure heading into the second half: Arcadia had found a rhythm and was going to keep its momentum up. 

A statement was sent in the first drive of the second half. 

Arcadia senior defensive back Jaxon Krohn snatched an interception and gave his team great field position to go ahead and score again.

Krohn was excited about not only how well he played, but how great the defense was as a unit together. 

“I was guarding the flat, and he tried throwing it behind me, and I got it,” Krohn said. “Our defense set the tone. It was a great performance all around from the defense.”

It only took 1:40 from Arcadia getting the interception to finding their way back into the endzone. 

Once again, Jimenez powered his way down the field and finished off the drive with another 7-yard touchdown, his second of the game. 

Even though Jimenez may have fumbled on the opening drive, he didn’t let it affect him, and his response was a reason his team came out with a victory.

“There’s going to be plays where you make mistakes,” Jimenez said. “You have to be able to come back, bounce back, and play harder.”

Like clockwork, the Titans' defensive unit got yet another stop and got the ball back in the hands of their on-fire offense. 

Four times in a row, Arcadia got down near the endzone. This time, it was Smith finding junior wide receiver Konnor Kammes for a 13-yard touchdown. 

The drive would ultimately seal the fate for both sides as Arcadia had scored 28 unanswered points and would go on to win the game 28-3.

Pasquel said his team is a “good team” and praised how good the people on his 2025 roster are.  

It's a great group of kids to coach; we're never worried about the effort or the energy level,” Pasquel said. “They’re just great kids.” 

Next up: 4-0 Arcadia will host #6 ALA West Foothills. 3-1 Deer Valley will travel to take on #4 Thunderbird.