Pride run ‘Tukee for 4th straight year
Eight snaps. That was all it took for Mountain Pointe’s defense to force three turnovers, which resulted in very short fields (31 total yards) and touchdowns. Host Desert Vista fell into a 21-0 hole that it mightily tried all night to climb out of.
In the end, it was a high-scoring ‘Tukee Bowl and the Pride took home the trophy for a fourth consecutive season in the battle between the two Ahwatukee schools. Mountain Pointe prevailed 55-35 on Friday night at Thunder Stadium.
”First quarter was electric,” Mountain Pointe head coach Jon Roberts said. “It felt like every time we needed to make a play, whether it was offensively or defensively, somebody came up with a big one for us.”
The Standouts
Mountain Pointe QB Jordan Munoz
For the past eight months, Mountain Pointe has had a quarterback battle. Munoz, a junior, settled in and made big plays. He read the defense really well as shown by his 14 straight completions in the second half. Munoz finished the night 21-of-29 for 201 yards and a touchdown.
Mountain Pointe DT Marleigh Fely
Fely is a 6-1, 237-pound junior captain. He serves as the emotional leader of the Pride with his passion for the game. Fely recovered a fumble in the first quarter and returned it inside the 10-yard line. To outdo himself, he picked up another loose ball late in the fourth quarter and took it 40 yards for a touchdown. He is both physical and versatile and can play outside linebacker, on the interior of the D-Line, or even in the backfield as a fullback or pass catcher. High football IQ.
Mountain Pointe WR Josiah Smith
The junior receiver was a big part of the Pride’s vast improvement in the passing game. In last week’s win over Maricopa, MPHS completed just eight passes (of 12 attempts). On Friday, Smith caught nine balls himself for 110 yards.
Mountain Pointe LB Jaylyn Colter
Anchoring the middle linebacker position, Colter made it back-to-back games with a sack. He also made a big tackle for a loss in the third quarter when Desert Vista reached the red zone. The drive ended with a missed field goal. Colter (6-1, 200) is a senior with seven Division I offers.
Desert Vista QB Seth Hanson
The 6-foot-, 170-pound senior started all 10 games for the Thunder last year and put up some big numbers (2,721 yards & 24 TDs). This year, he’s poised to top those. He got going midway through the second quarter with a pair of big pass plays to Kael Moore and Cooper Walsh that both went for touchdowns. By the end of the night, Hanson had 355 yards (on 19-of-31 passing) along with four TD passes.
Every Play Counts
- On Desert Vista’s first offensive play, 6-3, 287-pound defensive lineman Tyrique Washington scooped up a fumble and rumbled all the way to the 1-yard line. The Pride offense punched it in for the game’s first points.
- Trailing 14-0, Desert Vista’s attempted a backwards pass that fell incomplete. Aware that is was a live ball, Fely scooped it up and returned it to the 9-yard line. MPHS cashed in that turnover with a touchdown run for its third score of the quarter.
- An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Mountain Pointe moved the ball half the distance to the 13-yard line for Desert Vista. The Thunder already had momentum as it had closed to 24-14.
- However, the Desert Vista drive ended in the final minute of the half as Andre Burnside intercepted a pass in the end zone to keep the margin at 10 going into halftime.
- In the third quarter, with Mountain Pointe leading 31-14, sophomore Jackson Iber made an open-field tackle on third down. That forced a punt, which the Thunder scored on a 53-yard drive to draw closer.
- With the score 31-21, Munoz hit Smith on a 40-yard pass play to open a drive. Francisco Orduno later converted his second field goal on the final play of the third quarter to boost the Pride lead.
- Facing its last gasp effort, Desert Vista went for it on fourth down at its own 22 with the score 41-28. Teylor Caldwell got to the QB to end the possession and give the Pride the ball at point-blank range (which resulted in a touchdown.
Box Score
Pride 55, Thunder 35
| MP | 21 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 55 |
| DV | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
First Quarter
MP – Amari Sanders 1 yard run (Francisco Orduno kick), 10:04
MP – Josiah Smith 5 yard pass from Jordan Munoz (Orduno kick), 7:53
MP – Jamier McKinney 1 yard run (Orduno kick), 5:39
Second Quarter
MP – Orduno 23 yard FG, 11:56
DV – Kael Moore 86 yard pass from Seth Hanson (Marshall Carpenter kick), 4:35
DV – Cooper Walsh 52 yard pass from Hanson (Carpenter kick), 1:56
Third Quarter
MP – Gabriel Cordova 55 yard punt return (Orduno kick), 11:21
DV – Kyler Drunansky 29 yard run (Carpenter kick), 9:21
MP – Orduno 26 yard FG, 0:00
Fourth Quarter
DV – Jaeden Williams 36 yard pass from Hanson (Carpenter kick), 10:01
MP – Sonny Norwood 26 yard run (Orduno kick), 6:09
MP – McKinney 5 yard run (Orduno kick), 4:11
DV – Williams 50 yard pass from Hanson (Carpenter kick), 3:50
MP – Marleigh Fely 40 yard fumble return (Orduno kick), 3:00
Team Statistics
| Mountain Pointe | Desert Vista | |
| First Downs | 14 | 17 |
| Rushes-Yards | 29-86 | 34-178 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 21-29-1 | 19-31-2 |
| Pass Yards | 201 | 355 |
| Total Yards | 287 | 533 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 4 |
| Penalties | 16-155 | 6-40 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Mountain Pointe – Norwood 5-49, McKinney 8-28, Sanders 12-23, Cordova 1-11, Munoz 3-(minus 25). Desert Vista – Drunansky 19-136, Schiermeyer 9-55, Hanson 6-(minus 13).
Passing
Mountain Pointe – Munoz 21-29-1, 201 yards. Desert Vista – Hanson 19-31-2, 355 yards.
Receiving
Mountain Pointe – Smith 9-110, Rodriguez 3-27, McKinney 4-24, Cordova 2-21, Sanders 1-11, Norwood 2-8. Desert Vista – J. Williams 6-139, Moore 7-117, Walsh 3-65, H. Williams 1-15, Drunansky 1-13, Schiermeyer 1-6.
Sound Off
Mountain Pointe QB Jordan Munoz on his successful night: “We understood the short game was working. The short game is what sets up everything else.”
Desert Vista head coach Jake McSpadden: “When you give them the ball inside the 20, it’s tough to win ball games. But, when you have a group that keeps fighting, it helps. I’m proud of the way we fought back.”
Mountain Pointe DT Isaiah Hernandez, who had a fumble recovery, on the defense: “We came out hot. The plan was for the defense to set the tone for the offense to get momentum.”
Mountain Pointe head coach Jon Roberts on dealing with adversity as Desert Vista rallied: “We tried to keep them calm, stay in the game, and keep them focused. In previous years, Mountain Pointe has had a problem when it faces adversity in the past. How we react to adversity has to be different.”
Next Week
Mountain Pointe (2-0) is on the road again as the Pride travel to Glendale to face Mountain Ridge (0-2) next Friday. The Mountain Lions have scored just seven total points this year.
Desert Vista (1-1) looks to return to its winning ways with a home game in Ahwatukee against Valley Vista (0-2) next Friday. The Monsoon has been blown out twice and have been outscored 98-12 this season.
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