#4 Red Mountain eliminates #5 O'Connor in Saturday morning 6A Quarterfinal
- Mason Byers
- Nov 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 19
In three AIA flag football seasons, Red Mountain is making its third appearance in the 6A semifinals.
The Mountain Lions took down 5th-seeded O'Connor in a 12-7 slugfest that kicked off unordinarily early at 10am due to afternoon rain in the forecast.
On their first drive of the game, Red Mountain was able to put points on the board.
They got near the end zone but ultimately settled for a 25-yard field goal made by senior kicker Sophee Incardone.
The Mountain Lions' defense made a huge play on the following drive as their senior linebacker Cadence McCanless snagged an interception to give her offense the ball right back.
Being a senior, McCanless doesn’t shy away from the bright lights and is always one of the best players when she is on the field.
“We watch a lot of film, knowing what they’re gonna run, and knowing it better than they know it,” McCanless said on how they prepared for O’Connor. “It was really just control, though, staying in our zone.”
Once again, though, Red Mountain couldn’t find the end zone.
Incardone made her second field goal of the game, again from 25 yards, to give Red Mountain an early 6-0 lead.
The Eagles then put together their best drive of the game and put points on the board.
One of the biggest plays of the drive was when their sophomore wide receiver, Kyleigh Adams, made a ridiculous 35-yard catch.
The drive was then capped off by O’Connor junior quarterback Kylie Pruitt connecting with senior wide receiver Ava Hannosh for a 5-yard touchdown.
Things kept going O’Connor’s way as their defense came up with a huge play.
It was the Eagles' sophomore defensive back Kiley Olson who grabbed the interception to give her team the ball back.
After the interception, O’Connor was unable to get anything going on offense and which allowed Red Mountain to reclaim their lead before halftime.
Red Mountain did just that as they got down the field in a hurry, and it was once again Incardone making a field goal to give Red Mountain back the lead.
The Mountain Lions relied on Incardone to make crucial kicks, and she kept delivering.
“I feel confident,” Incardone said in reference to how she feels before a kick. “I know I’m capable of doing it, done it hundreds of times before.”
After taking the lead, Red Mountain leaned on its defense to step up to close out the game.
Early in the third quarter, Red Mountain got another interception, this time it was caught by their senior defensive back, Joelle Haddad.
Both sides struggled to move the ball until late in the fourth quarter, when Red Mountain added to its lead.
It started with their defense forcing a punt and getting the ball back into the offense's hands.
The Mountain Lions then relied on their senior star quarterback Korey Roberts to get down the field and chew some clock.
Roberts used her legs to move the chains and move Red Mountain into field goal territory.
“He told us to just go out there and do what we already do and just get the yardage,” Roberts said about what their coach told them before the last drive. “Either way, we knew we could get there and get the first down.”
The running by Roberts allowed Incardone to hit another field goal for Red Mountain with one minute left in the game.
Then, like they did all game, the Mountain Lions' defense came up huge.
In what was the game-sealing play, senior defensive back Gracie Lin-Gonzales snagged an interception.
Red Mountain head coach Julian Madison said the defense "has always shown up.”
“They really hold it down,” Madison said. “They have since the first game we ever played to now.”
Red Mountain now heads to their third straight semifinal appearance, in which they will take on Highland.
The Mountain Lions are ready for the challenge.
“Highland is a great team and they’re really well coached,” Madison said. “Preparing for them is taking away their best players and knowing what they do and when they’re going to do it.”
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