WEEKLY BLOG: 11/9/23

The charter school of American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North has climbed the ladder the past two years going from 3A in 2021 to a championship season in 4A to its current place in the 5A Conference. One thing the Eagles have continued to do as the level of competition increases is win.

On Thursday night, ALA-Gilbert North captured a first-round state playoff game for the fifth straight season as the Eagles pulled away in the second half for a comfortable 48-25 victory over visiting Marana.

The Eagle offense was in high gear early with three first-quarter touchdowns. After being slowed for a bit in the second quarter, ALAGN picked it back up again in a frenetic, high-paced, no-huddle game. It was also the fifth consecutive postseason victory for the Eagles, who claimed the 4A Conference crown last year.

ALA-Gilbert North (7-4) advanced to play at Horizon (9-2) next Friday in Scottsdale. The game will be a rematch from a contest that the Huskies won just last week to close out the regular season (51-27).

It was a game with just one lead change, and it happened early.

After the teams exchanged touchdowns on their opening possessions, the Eagles held Marana to a three-and-out. Starting from their own 30-yard line, it only took them two plays to score.

Junior Conner White threw the first of what would eventually be four touchdown passes, completing a 15-yard throw to Brandon Phelps on the left sideline. Phelps was in a 1-on-1 matchup, the pass was right on the spot, the defender tried to go for the interception, but Phelps turned and sped down the sideline for a 73-yard scoring play. The Eagles would tack another on (White to Phelps again) and take a 20-6 lead after the opening quarter. The Tigers were never able to make that deficit up.

The Eagles have been an opportunistic bunch on defense, particularly in the secondary, as they finished the regular season with 22 takeaways. On Thursday, ALA-Gilbert North's defense forced five turnovers.

There were four interceptions with a pair by McKay Beardall. Stockton Dye and Tanner Hatch also picked off passes while Kody Thorley recovered a fumble.

Surprisingly, the five turnovers only led to one touchdown for the Eagles, but they played a big part in slowing down a Marana offense that came in averaging 33.5 points per game.

The selection here goes to one of the best interceptions you'll see. Sophomore defensive back Stockton Dye (who can also play quarterback) leapt and pulled down the pick with one arm. It set the Eagles up for a short field at the Tigers' 31-yard line (they cashed it in for a TD).

The nod goes to White, who had his third 300-yard passing game of the season. He finished 16-of-29 for 346 yards with the four TD passes (no interceptions). For the season, he has 29 touchdowns passes and in games where he doesn't throw a pick, the Eagles are 5-0.

ALA-Gilbert North has a 1-2 senior punch at receiver with Phelps and Tyton Slade. That duo combined for 15 catches for 337 yards and four touchdowns (two apiece).

This game presented a chance to see two of the most prolific receivers in the state. Phelps continued to improve on his career marks, which now stand at 271 receptions, 4,745 yards receiving, and 60 touchdown catches. Those totals make him the all-time leader in each category for the state of Arizona.

Amazingly, Phelps played football for the first time in his life during his freshman year at ALAGN. Eagles head coach Randy Ricedorff threw him on the varsity team that season. Fast forward three years and the 6-3, 190-pounder, who committed to Arizona last December, will be continuing his football career in Tucson.

Wearing No. 1 on the other side was Dezmen Roebuck. The junior had 11 catches for 62 yards. The 11 receptions raises Roebuck's total to a whopping 116, which surpasses Elijah Marks (Desert Edge) from 2013 as the most in a single season in Arizona high school history.

While the Eagles posted 49 points on the scoreboard, the defense was doing its job as well. In addition to the five forced turnovers, ALA-Gilbert North sacked the quarterback four times and gave up just three touchdowns (Marana had one defensive score).

Senior Noah Scheurn had a pair of sacks while Dye and Thomas Smith each added one. Thorley, a junior linebacker, had a game-high 14 tackles.

Beardall, who had two interceptions, played a role in special teams as well with 118 return yards. A total of 65 of those came on a kickoff runback that set the Eagles up at the Marana 32-yard line for their first possession of the game.

Marana (5-6) battled a lot of adversity just to make it this far. A week before the season, a microburst with 60 mph winds and driving rain destroyed a new turf field, which was still being installed. There wasn't enough time to complete the work which resulted in the Tigers playing two extra road games. Marana had to travel for six of its first seven on the schedule and went 2-5 in those games. It was a challenging slate that included Salpointe (#2 seed in the 6A playoffs), Higley (#1 seed in the 5A playoffs), and Canyon del Oro (#2 seed in the 4A playoffs). When the rankings came out on October 10, the Tigers were No. 23.

That ranking, of course, put Marana in must-win mode for its final three games and it delivered with resounding wins over Desert View, Casa Grande, and Cienega by a combined 137-17 score. That vaulted the Tigers up to No. 11 in the 16-team field.

An injury at wide receiver led to the Tigers moving quarterback Jason Wood (1,998 yards and 13 TDs) over to WR and making sophomore Coco Meyer the starter. That duo connected on the first points for the Tigers on their initial drive and also the last points for the Tigers on their final drive. Meyer threw for 250 yards and also ran in a score late in the first half to complete a two-minute drive and make it a 20-12 game at the break.

Of course, the Tigers will also return Roebuck, who is more than just a receiver. A starter since his freshman year, Roebuck also plays safety and had four interceptions this season. He scored touchdowns on both a pick-six and a fumble return in his junior year.

Another returning defensive player is Moses Miller, who returned an interception 99 yards for a score midway through the fourth quarter.

"This senior class is incredible," ALA-Gilbert North head coach Randy Ricedorff said. "It was real meaningful for them to get a win on their last game here on this field. I'm so proud to be their coach."

"We've got good athletes all over the place," ALA-Gilbert North quarterback Conner White said. "We've got a lot of experience in the secondary and confidence all around. We're playing for each other."

"We were really looking to gel as a team," ALA-Gilbert North receiver Tyton Slade said. "We needed a good team win and we got it."

"We came out flat," Marana head coach Phillip Steward said. "We just weren't consistent enough. We kept putting our defense in bad position. They took advantage of that."

"My senior class showed resilience," Steward said. "The way our season started, we weren't even supposed to get in the playoffs."

"We didn't play Eagle football last time (against Horizon)," Ricedorff said. "When we walk off the field, I want to have played our best football. I think we'll compete well and represent our school well."

First Quarter:
Mar - Jason Wood 16 yard pass from Coco Meyer (kick failed), 9:35
ALA - Kody Thorley 1 yard run (kick blocked), 7:14
ALA - Brandon Phelps 73 yard pass from Conner White (Garrett Baker kick), 4:40
ALA - Phelps 26 yard pass from White (Baker kick), 2:02
Second Quarter:
Mar - Meyer 1 yard run (pass failed), 0:10
Third Quarter:
ALA - Tyton Slade 16 yard pass from White (Baker kick), 9:24
ALA - Boston Morris 8 yard run (Baker kick), 3:05
Fourth Quarter:
ALA - Slade 12 yard pass from White (Baker kick), 9:08
Mar - Moses Miller 99 yard interception return (pass failed), 6:50
ALA - Talan Renner 21 yard run (Baker kick), 3:43
Mar - Wood 15 yard pass from Meyer (Tyson Tschida kick), 0:26

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