Highland Continues Dominance with 28-7 win over Mountain Ridge

Highland faced off against the Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions Tuesday night, where they picked up a 28-7 win and improved to 5-0 on the season. 

The Hawks had a 12 day break going into Tuesday's contest. While a lot of teams may have looked rusty, Highland looked like a well-oiled machine.

It was a slow start for both sides as neither offense could get much going. 

Although late in the first quarter and early in the second, Highland got its offense moving down the field.

Highlands senior quarterback Alexis Eley connected twice with senior wide receiver Emilee Searle for a total of 26 yards to set up their offense deep into Mountain Ridge’s territory. 

The first play of the second quarter, Eley found senior wide receiver Kenzie Egan for a 24-yard touchdown to give the game its first points. 

Before the end of the first half, Highland’s defense made another big stop to give its offense the ball back. 

The Hawks were able to get another touchdown before halftime as Eley used her legs to run in for a 6-yard rushing touchdown. 

Even though it wasn’t the fast start they were hoping for, Eley and her team were able to get their offense going in the second quarter. 

“It was a rough start, but as soon as we got the first touchdown, it all started clicking,” Eley said.  “We got there eventually.”

The Highland Hawks' offense continued to add to their lead in the second half.

Their second possession, early in the third quarter, Eley found sophomore wide receiver Emma Frost deep on the right sideline. Frost then did the rest and capped the play off with an 80-yard touchdown. 

Only three minutes later, they once again found themselves with the ball and an opportunity to score. 

This time, it was Eley throwing her third touchdown pass of the night to freshman wide receiver Ela Withcer for a 27-yard touchdown. 

Even though they are only five games into the season, Highlands head coach Kenny Golladay has implemented a lot more plays on offense and has seen an overall improvement on that side of the ball. 

“I’ve almost doubled the amount of plays since game one of the season,” Golladay said. “It’s impressive the amount they can retain and still run everything crisply.”

Even though they were down 28 points, Mountain Ridge still put up a fight in all four quarters.

On the last play of the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Amiaya Tice evaded pressure and delivered a strike to senior wide receiver Kaliyahna Baldwin for a 37-yard touchdown. 

With that touchdown, Mountain Ridge is the only team so far to score on Highland so far this season. 

The Mountain Lions' defense was able to make a great play too, as in the fourth quarter, freshman defensive back Anahlee Sifuentes made a juggling catch to grab an interception.

Mountain Ridge was trying to march down the field in back-to-back drives, but Highlands' defense had other plans. 

In what was a game-sealing two plays, Highlands senior rusher Kylie Riggs had back-to-back sacks. 

It made her sack total of the game at five, and overall, she and her defense have been one of the best units in Arizona. 

“Throughout summer and our practices in the season, we just make sure to talk to each other because communication is key,” Riggs said. “Communication is the biggest thing, and I think it’s a really positive environment for us.” 

Communication, making plays, getting stops, whatever it may be, Highlands' defense continues to dominate and help propel them to key victories. 

The other secret to their early success for far in the season? It is their conditioning; they feel as though they can keep up or outrun any team in the state, and that it will help them to keep competing at a high level. 

“We run a lot, we run and run,” Golladay said. “As long as we keep our conditioning up, I think we can keep up with any team in the state, I’m pretty confident.” 

Next up: 5-0 Highland will take on 2-2 Mesa. 1-3 Mountain Ridge will face off against 4-1 Desert Vista.