Highland runs away from Chaparral in 2nd half for 1st championship
On Saturday afternoon, Highland defeated Chaparral, 31-10 in a rematch from last year's 6A Conference championship.
The Hawks continued their stellar run of defense they've had throughout this tournament. Highland (11-3) limited the Firebirds to just 110 yards of total offense in the second half. For the game, Chaparral (9-5) didn't just have trouble finding holes for their running back, the Hawks held them to negative two yards for the game (includes one sack). On offense, Highland tried to establish the run early, but what worked best for them was the Gage Dayley Show. The senior quarterback, starting for his third season, was 13-of-14 passing for 234 yards and four touchdowns.
This was the 29th season of Highland football and the Gilbert District school claimed its first championship trophy. Chaparral booted a field goal in the closing seconds of the first half to narrow its deficit to 14-10. The second half belonged to the Hawks. The Firebirds ran just two plays in the fourth quarter and Highland bled out the last 8:23 off the clock.
Turning Point
With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Highland increased its lead to 17-10 on a 40-yard field goal from Crew Crockett. What was originally planned as a pooch kick to avoid one of the Chaparral returners, was mishit and Highland recovered what became an onside attempt to retain control of the ball. Four plays later, on fourth-and-three from the 31, Hunter Stewart ran a five-yard out pattern, caught the pass, then did the rest breaking one tackle and then getting to the sideline for a touchdown to give the Hawks a comfortable two-score lead.
Key Stat
You just can't overlook -2 yards rushing. The breakdown was nine carries from running backs for one yard, three quarterback runs that netted four yards, and a seven-yard sack by Tautua Pauga. Granted, Chaparral got most of its yards through the air all year long (the Firebirds came in averaging 307 yards passing and 115 rushing), there has to be some type of ground presence and the Hawks never let that happen. Highland's D also held Chaparral to almost 100 yards below its passing average (19-of-30 for 209 yards).
Top Play
Highland safety Joseph Allen had an interception waived off earlier in the game to a defensive holding penalty. He got another one on Chaparral's final offensive play (with 8:30 left). Silbor's pass turned into a desperate heave as Pauga, Carson Allen, and Chance Cauthen were all in pursuit. The pass was deflected by senior cornerback Brock Flahart and into the arms of Joseph Allen, who was laying on the grass after diving for the pass.
MVP
Gage Dayley came in to the game as Highland's all-time passing leader (set during the semifinals). He has not only increased his production in terms of yardage and touchdown passes each season, but also his accuracy. Going 13-of-14 put his season mark over the 70-percent mark. Dayley had to be patient, because on Highland's first drive, the Hawks ran the ball on all 10 of their plays before being stopped on downs.
Dayley has 58 touchdown passes in his career and, it was learned Monday, he will have a chance to add to that this Friday night as the Hawks will represent Arizona in the GEICO Bowl at Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas against Florida champion Chaminade-Madonna (11-1). The Lions won their title on Friday night with a 21-0 victory over Berkeley Prep. The school is located in Hollywood, on the east coast of the state between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. ESPNU will have the broadcast at 8:30 pm Arizona time.
Quotable
"As soon as we got the two-score lead, I said 'Let's get a stop. Let's be deliberate about what we're doing.'. Our O-Line just went old school in the fourth quarter. That was beautiful to see." - Highland head coach Brock Farrel
"It was directly in the sun. I was a little nervous I wasn't going to catch it. But, I made the catch, broke a tackle, my other receiver Malloy (Hess) was able to make a block and I was able to get in the end zone. It was a big momentum shift." - Highland wide receiver Hunter Stewart on his 31-yard touchdown reception
"It taught the whole team what it took to get there. I'm just so happy for everyone. It's an awesome experience, first time in school history." - Highland quarterback Gage Dayley on what the Hawks learned by playing in last year's title game
"We didn't help ourselves with some of the down and distance we were putting ourselves in. They flipped the script on us. Last year, we were physical, we ran the ball and controlled the game. They flipped that. They did that." - Chaparral head coach Brent Barnes
First Quarter:
No Scoring
Second Quarter:
High - Jace Patton 2 yard pass from Gage Dayley (Crew Crockett kick), 11:55
Chap - Lukas Garvey 62 yard pass from Brayten Silbor (Aysa Hamid kick), 3:26
High - Steven Trujillo 22 yard pass from Dayley (Crockett kick), 1:30
Chap - Hamid 27 yard FG, 0:05
Third Quarter:
High - Crockett 40 yard FG, 2:47
High - Hunter Stewart 31 yard pass from Dayley (Crockett kick), 1:17
Fourth Quarter:
High - Trujillo 37 yard pass from Dayley (Crockett kick), 9:19
