Friday night in North Scottsdale provided one of the best postseason games of the year so far. The Higley Knights and Desert Mountain Wolves met with a spot in the 5A conference championship game and a trip to Sun Devil Stadium on the line.
From the first moment of the game, the teams were off and running.
Carter Hancock of the Knights caught the opening kickoff on the run and returned the ball to the 40 yard line which set up Kohner Olson’s 25 yard field goal to make it 3-0 Knights right away.
On the first drive for the Wolves, the offense struggled to find their footing and punted the ball away to the Knights who quickly began to move down the field. As Higley was trying to extend their early lead, on third down Jamar Malone attempted a pass down the sideline that junior athlete Dylan Tapley pulled in for an interception that would keep the score 3-0.
Just a few plays later, Santana Wilson of the Wolves took a handoff 74 yards for a Desert Mountain touchdown to give the Wolves their first lead of the game at the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Daxen Hall of the Knights took a 61 yard handoff to the endzone to put Higley back up 10-7.
After a punt by the Wolves, The Knights attempted to move the ball back down the field but Dom Colletto of Desert Mountain intercepted a pass and returned it to the Higley 27 yard line.
Immediately the Wolves would capitalize off the turnover as on the next play, Drew Tapley would connect with Lucas Blumling for another Desert Mountain touchdown that would give the Wolves a 14-10 lead.
With all of the momentum on the Wolves side the Knights were forced to punt the ball away, but an unlucky bounce grazed a Desert Mountain player's foot which allowed Higley to recover the ball deep in the Wolves territory.
Right away, Malone would connect with Carter Hancock for a 13 yard touchdown to give the Knights the lead right back.
As the Knights lined up for the extra point, a Desert Mountain defender jumped offsides which moved the ball up one yard. With the extra yard, the Higley offense returned to the field and Hall would rush in the two point conversion attempt to make it 18-14 late in the second quarter.
The Wolves offense would capitalize immediately. Drew Tapley would connect with Dylan Tapley for a six yard touchdown to make it 21-18 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Knights defense forced a punt on their first possession of the second half which set up a 25 yard touchdown run by Hall that would give Higley a 25-21 lead.
After stopping the Wolves, the Knights would get the ball back and start to move the ball down the field. Wilson however would stop the Knights drive as he would pull in an interception for Desert Mountain inside Higley territory. Drew Tapley would capitalize on the field position by finishing the drive with a touchdown run that would give the Wolves a 27-25 lead. The Knights defensive line would block the extra point as the game entered the fourth quarter.
After another Higley drive would stall out, The Wolves would get the ball back and had the ball at the Higley 20 yard line as they lined up to attempt a field goal that would extend the lead. The kick would go wide left and give the Knights new life as the offense returned to the field.
Hall once again would make a big play as he would rush in his third touchdown of the night to give the Knights a 32-27 lead with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Drew Tapley would respond by marching the Wolves all the way down to the Knights nine yard line where he would face a 4th and goal. Facing pressure, Tapley would step up in the pocket and connect with Dillon Hipp for the touchdown to give the Wolves the lead back. The offense would attempt a two point conversion but would be stopped to keep the score at 33-32 with only four minutes left.
Malone would then lead the Knights down the field using both his arm and legs to get Higley down to the Wolves eight yard line with three seconds left. As the Knights lined up for the field goal, a false start penalty would back them up to the 13 yard line setting up a 30 yard field goal for Olson.
After a big first quarter field goal that opened up the scoring and four critical extra points, Olson lined up for the biggest kick of his career.
The snap was high, but Hancock who was the holder for the Knights got it down and Olson would kick it right down the middle to win the game for the Knights and send Higley to their first state championship game since 2006.
Seliga’s Top Four Performers
Santana Wilson, Desert Mountain ‘24
Wilson had a great game on both sides of the ball finishing with 83 total yards on offense with a touchdown and pulling in an interception to go along with a few pass breakups defensively.
Drew Tapley, Desert Mountain ‘23
Tapley was calm under pressure all night leading the Wolves offense. He finished with 283 total yards and four touchdowns while not turning the ball over.
Daxen Hall, Higley ‘24
Hall did it all for the Knights offense as his dominance on the ground opened up the passing attack for Higley. Whether it was coming out the backfield on a swing pass or a handoff his big play ability was special to see. Hall had 200 total yards and three touchdowns
Carter Hancock, Higley ‘23
Hancock made big catch after big catch for Higley all night including a touchdown reception that ended up in his legs. Hancock had nine receptions for 148 yards and throughout the second half was Malone’s top target.
