On Friday night, December 1st the 5A Football championship took place at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. It was a matchup of the top two seeds, #1 Higley Knights and #2 Goodyear Desert Edge Scorpions. This was a rematch of a week 4 contest that saw the Scorpions come out on top 38-32 in overtime. Higley came out the gate trying to apply pressure to the Desert Edge defense.
They took their first possession 85 yards down the field. The result was a touchdown pass from Gunner Fagrell to Taveon Sueing at the 7:04 mark of the opening quarter. The rest of the 1st quarter consisted of both teams exchanging punts and not much offensive production. Things got going in the 2nd quarter as Higley got on the scoreboard again as Dax Hall scored from 1 yard out at the 11:49 mark of the 2nd quarter. Higley had extended its lead to 14-0. On the next Desert Edge possession, they were forced to punt, and the result was not good. Not only was it a short punt, but there was a penalty that gave Higley the ball deep in Desert Edge territory.
Higley scored again as Dax Hall ran for an 11-yard touchdown up the middle at 8:45 left in the first half. A successful 2-point conversion made the score 22-0 in favor of Higley. The Scorpions finally found the end zone at the 4:54 mark of the 2nd quarter as Markhi McKinnon scored from 2 yards out. Higley looked to answer and marched down the field. They attempted a field goal but missed. On the next possession, Desert Edge was unable to move the ball and was forced to punt. On the punt, there was a penalty that set off a bench-clearing brawl.
As a result, 16 Desert Edge players and 4 Higley players were ejected. Once play resumed after a long delay, Higley resumed moving the ball. This time, they scored on a Fagrell to Hall 23-yard touchdown pass. After another failed 2-point conversion, Higley’s lead was 28-7 with 59 seconds left in the half. On the kickoff after the touchdown, Kezion Dia-Johnson took it back all the way to make it 28-13 heading into halftime.
When the 2nd half began, Higley looked to put away Desert Edge and it should have been relatively easy due to the number of ejections the Scorpions had. Many of the starting defensive players were ejected, and now freshmen and JV players had to step up. Higley has a drive extended due to a Desert Edge penalty. Larry Halvorsen punched it in from 1 yard out to make it a 35-13 lead for Higley with 8:37 left in the 3rd quarter. Desert Edge continued to lack offense, and Higley continued to capitalize. Fagrell scored on a quarterback keeper from 4 yards out, and the lead was up to 42-13.
The Desert Edge offense woke up at that point. Quarterback Hezekiah Millender hit DiaJohnson 61 yards down the field to set up a 2 yard touchdown pass to Jaqua Anderson at 1:52 left in the 3 rd quarter. The score was now 42-13. The next time Desert Edge got the ball, it was the combination of Millender and Kia-Johnson again. This pass went for 79.
Yards and brought the Scorpions within 42-28 with 10:05 left in the game. Higley tried to run the ball and slow down the momentum of the Scorpions but was forced to punt again.
Another long pass, this time 53 yards from Millender to Dia Johnson, set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jaqua Anderson. The score was now Higley 42 and Desert Edge 35 with 4:42 left in the game. Once again, Higley tries to run the ball but is forced to punt again. A short punt gave the Scorpions the ball at their own 37-yard line and 3:33 to work with. Desert Edge marched down the field and got down to fourth and goal with 1 second left in the game. Millender ran it in with no time left on the clock to make it 42-41. Desert Edge says they came to win, so they go for the 2-point conversion.
Deshawn Warner lined up in the Wildcat and carried it in for the conversion. That’s what everyone thought until the referee threw a flag for a hold. This penalty moved Desert Edge back, but they still went for the win. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Higley survived the ultimate choking situation and won 42-41. The Higley Knights repeat as 5A state champions and survive 28 unanswered points from Desert Edge. The phantom holding call will be talked about for some time as people have analyzed it over and over. This game was an instant classic as Dax Hall ran for over 200 yards, and Gunner Fagrell passed for over 350 yards and three total touchdowns. On the Desert Edge side of things, Hezekiah Millender threw for over 300 yards, and Kezion Dia-Johnson had over 200 yards receiving and two total touchdowns.
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