Saints’ Haskins-Smith wears defense down with 5 TD night

With starting quarterback Luke Jacobs dealing with a shoulder injury, Notre Dame Prep head coach George Prelock had to be a little creative with the Saints’ offense. So, he employed the Wildcat in the team’s first two possessions with magical results.

Landon Stych, a running back/receiver/linebacker, took the team’s first snap and went 69 yards. The next series, running back/linebacker Gunnar Perry received the snap from center and cruised through the line for a 52-yard gain. Stych and Perry finished off those drives on the second play and midway through the first quarter, host Notre Dame had Gilbert in a 14-0 hole.

That was the way it went for three quarters as the Saints scored touchdowns on each of its first nine possessions in a 62-34 Homecoming victory over previously-undefeated Gilbert at Bemis Field on Friday night.

“We wanted to come off with a hot start,” Prelock said. “Defense did a good job of getting us the ball. Any time you run four offensive plays and you have two touchdowns, that’s always impressive.”

Jacobs did come in later in the quarter and threw a touchdown pass, but didn’t need to exert himself much other than handing the ball off (six pass attempts). That’s because the run game for the Saints was devastating. Notre Dame had a trio of 100-yard rushers and amassed 410 yards on the ground as a team.

The Standouts

Notre Dame RB Decker Haskins-Smith

The junior back came in averaging 95 yards per game, but had scored just one touchdown. Haskins-Smith more than made up for that with four rushing TDs in just 11 carries. He added another score with a 29-yard reception just before halftime to put the Saints up 48-13. Haskins-Smith is a two-way player, seeing action at defensive back. His interception in the second quarter set NDP up at the Tigers’ 41-yard line. Of course, Notre Dame cashed that in for a touchdown as well (on a Haskins-Smith 25-yard run).

Notre Dame ATH Landon Stych

The 6-2, 195-pound senior has been making plays on both sides of the ball all season and Friday was no exception. Sparked by the 69-yard run to open the game, he rolled up 117 yards on just six carries while also playing on the defensive end. Speed is also a part of his game as he was hand-timed at 4.59 in the 40 over the summer. His hard work is showing dividends.

Notre Dame DE Nate Jones

The junior lineman brings the physical part of the game that this year’s Saints embrace. Making tackles in the backfield, he put an end to drives. The 6-2, 230-pounder comes off the edge or as an outside linebacker and holds an offer from Northern Arizona. Jones is a three-sport athlete (wrestling/track) and was a First Team All-Region performer as a sophomore and was probably the best player on the field Friday.

Notre Dame OG Sam Zawaneh

We give this to Sam, but you could have mentioned any of the other four starting linemen (Sam Jenkins, Reece Gallagher, Quinton Moody, and Tanner Auerbach). When you rush for 410 yards with 183 in the first quarter alone, you are imposing your will on the opponent. The trenches set the tone and Zawaneh, a 6-1, 235-pound junior was a big part of that. He emerged as one of the Saints’ starting guards over the summer and cemented his spot during training camp. Zawaneh brings the combination of work ethic and passion.

Gilbert WR Jonathan Guy

The 5-10, 160-pound senior did a little of everything for Gilbert in its 3-0 start and I was excited to see how the Tigers used him in this one. GHS loves to give him the ball on the fly sweep and it’s with huge success. His one and only carry didn’t happen until the fourth quarter, but Guy took it for a 65-yard touchdown. He also caught a pair of TD passes from Zane Grant. There were no defensive or special teams heroics from him on this night, but for the season, Guy has three interceptions (one for a TD), a punt return for touchdown, AND a kickoff return for a touchdown. And that’s just in four games.

Every Play Counts

• Notre Dame went Wildcat on the very first play and Landon Stych blew through the defense for a 69-yard run. That set up his own TD run to open the scoring.
• The Saints went to the well again on their next drive and Gunnar Perry took the direct snap and burst for 52 yards. His keeper on the next play made it 14-0.
• Gilbert had success with its passing game as Zane Grant threw a 48-yard completion to Denim Smith. That set up a passing score to get the Tigers on the board.
• Decker Haskins-Smith, who already had two touchdowns at this point in the second quarter, intercepted a pass for the Saints at the Gilbert 41-yards line. The ensuing drive saw him reach paydirt for a third time.
• There was no quit in Gilbert as the Tigers outscored NDP in the fourth quarter, 21-0. GHS put points on the board with a long run (from Jonathan Guy), a defensive score (from Denim Smith), and a pass (from Zane Grant to Guy). While they may not have had an impact on the final score. It’s admirable to not see a team fold up when the game went sideways. That persistence can make a difference in future games.

Box Score

Saints 62, Tigers 34

GILB	7	6	0	21	34
NDP	21	27	14	0	62

First Quarter

NDP – Landon Stych 4 yard run (Jace Wright kick), 9:01
NDP – Gunnar Perry 2 yard run (Wright kick), 7:16
NDP – Decker Haskins-Smith 2 yard run (Wright kick), 2:47
Gilb – Jonathan Guy 20 yard pass from Zane Grant (Owen Pickett kick), 0:24

Second Quarter

NDP – Stych 32 yard run (pass failed), 9:54
NDP – Haskins-Smith 41 yard run (Wright kick), 5:30
NDP – Haskins-Smith 25 yard run (Wright kick), 3:06
Gilb – Denim Smith 40 yard pass from Grant (pass failed), 0:56
NDP – Haskins-Smith 29 yard pass from Luke Jacobs (Wright kick), 0:14

Third Quarter

NDP – Haskins-Smith 24 yard run (Wright kick), 8:05
NDP – Jackson Spong 10 yard run (Wright kick), 3:06

Fourth Quarter

Gilb – Guy 65 yard run (Smith pass from Grant), 10:55
Gilb – Smith 55 yard fumble return (pass failed), 9:43
Gilb – Guy 8 yard pass from Grant (Pickett kick), 3:53

Team Statistics

	Gilbert	Notre Dame
Rushes-Yards	27-125	30-410
Comp-Att-Int	19-37-2	3-6-0
Pass Yards	274	59
Total Yards	399	469
Fumbles Lost	0	2
Penalties	8-72	12-125

Individual Statistics

Rushing

Gilbert – Guy 1-65, Mapalo 12-45, Ronquillo 11-19, Smith 1-5, Grant 2-(minus 9). Notre Dame – Haskins-Smith 11-136, Stych 6-117, Perry 4-104, Brown 2-23, Spong 5-18, Gigena 2-12.

Passing

Gilbert – Grant 19-37-2, 274 yards. Notre Dame – Jacobs 3-6-0, 59 yards.

Receiving

Gilbert – Smith 6-117, Peterson 2-55, Guy 4-53, King 1-22, Nino 3-14, Sealey 3-13. Notre Dame – Stych 2-30, Haskins-Smith 1-29.

Sound Off

Notre Dame RB Decker Haskins-Smith on ending the team’s two-game losing streak: “As a team, we’ve come really close in our faith. This win will give us a lot of motivation and momentum to keep winning and keep going.”

Gilbert head coach Stevann Brown: ”They ran the ball effectively, efficiently, and with toughness. I don’t think we answered the bell when it rang. Executing is one of our keys to every victory. We’ll be better next week.”

Notre Dame OG Sam Zawaneh: “We had an unbalanced line. We had more guys on one side. We were able to open big gaps and get room for our running backs to make big plays.”

Notre Dame head coach George Prelock on Haskins-Smith and the run game: “He’s a great athlete and kudos to our offensive line. They really did a great job of moving bodies tonight and Decker was able to take advantage of the holes that they opened and he uses athleticism in space.”

Next Week

Gilbert (3-1) will be back home next Friday, but it will be against another tough opponent. Arizona College Prep, in its first year in the 5A Conference, is sporting a 4-0 record after defeating Sunrise Mountain on Thursday, 38-21.

Notre Dame (2-2) will play Thursday night in Gilbert at Campo Verde. The Coyotes (3-1) won their third straight game on Friday, defeating Goldwater 35-12. In their current streak, the Coyotes have outscored opponents 109-30.