6A #1 Highland Dominates 5A #1 Campo Verde in Season Opener 41-16
The flag football season kicked off last night with a few games, but Tuesday saw two heavyweight programs go head-to-head.
Highland head coach Kenny Golladay nodded at the fact that his team doesn’t really care about the score; they care more about whether they are doing the right things.
“Rather than focusing on what the score is on the board, their mindset is, ' Am I doing my job,” Golladay said. “By the fourth quarter, they weren’t even seeing what the score was; they were more concerned if they were doing what they were supposed to.”
That statement was clear by the way the Hawks took this game.
At the start of the game, however, it was the Coyotes who got on the board first.
The Coyotes relied on two of their top targets to get them down the field.
2028 wide receiver Claire McMahon and 2029 athlete Jaiyana Bogan-Jacobs each had big catches on the drive.
Ultimately, though, they had to settle for a field goal that was made by Campo Verde 2028 kicker Mia Ikeda from 20 yards out.
Highland would get things rolling on their end during their second drive of the game.
The Hawks put together a methodical drive to get down the field, and at the opening of the second quarter they would take a lead they never gave up.
2028 quarterback Lacie Nemchick called her own number to score a 5-yard rushing touchdown to give Highland a 6-3 lead.
The next score of the game would not come until late in the first half.
It was once again Highland who pushed the ball down the field as 2029 athlete Ela Witcher got a big catch-and-run after a tip drill situation.
A few plays later, Nemchick scored her second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from one yard out.
At halftime, Highland held a 13-3 lead.
For the first few minutes of the second half, it was pure insanity.
On the very first play of the second half, Highland rattled off the biggest momentum-shifting play of the game.
Out of nowhere, Witcher made a remarkable jump on an out route to snag an interception and turned it into a house call.
Before the play, all Witcher was thinking about was how to help her team in that moment.
“How can I best help my team?” Witcher said. “I read the quarterback's eyes, and I was able to shift over and pick it off and run.”
Suddenly, Highland led 20-3 and had the Campo Verde crowd stunned.
Needing a big play of their own, the Coyotes fought back.
The second play of the half saw 2027 quarterback Amaya Moreno launch a moon-ball to Bogan-Jacobs, who came down with the catch and ran 86 yards to the house to cut into the lead.
Campo Verde tried to ride off the energy of the big play and went for an onside recovery attempt to get the ball back.
It wound up backfiring for the Coyotes, though, as they did not convert and gave Highland back the ball on their own 20-yard line.
The Hawks made quick work of the field positon.
In what was only a two-play drive, Nemchick connected with 2027 wide receiver Aylleen Murillo for a 5-yard touchdown.
Nearing the end of the third quarter, Highland put together another scoring drive to extend their lead.
The biggest play of the drive saw Nemchick find Murillo near the sideline, and Murillo toe-tapped and sprinted down the field for a 54-yard catch-and-run.
Only a few plays later, Nemchick lofted a pass to 2030 wide receiver Kaliyah Kisler for a 15-yard touchdown.
Nemchick said they faced some adversity in the first half and made sure to come out firing in the second.
“We faced that adversity in the first half but that didn’t stop us,” Nemchick said. “We’re used to going through the hard things and push through.”
Highland led 34-10 at the end of three quarters.
Still trying to get back into the game, Campo Verde had one more big play in the game.
For the second time of the night, Moreno threw a deep bomb to Bogan-Jacobs, who came down with a remarkable catch over two defenders for a 39-yard touchdown.
It ended up being too little, too late, however, as Highland added on one more touchdown to ice the game.
For the final score of the game, Nemchick fired a quick pass to Witcher, who would do the rest with her legs and dance into the end zone for an 18-yard score.
Highland would take home the win and make a statement to the rest of Arizona that they are legit.
Even though it is only game one of a long season, Highland has to feel good about taking down the reigning 5A champions by 25 points.
The Hawks will look to keep the hunger and momentum rolling for them the rest of the year, as for them it’s just like playing backyard baseball.
“We have a top defense and a top offense,” Golladay said. “For us to be playing against each other all the time, it’s like Sandlot. When game time comes, we’re ready.”
Next up: 1-0 Highland looks to add another win when they face 0-1 Tolleson. 0-1 Campo Verde will look to get their first win of the year when they take on 0-1 McClintock.
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