Gila Ridge gets revenge on Lake Havasu with 29-6 season-opening win

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Gila Ridge Hawks opened their season with a little revenge.

After falling 21-12 to Lake Havasu in last season's opener, Gila Ridge welcomed the Knights to Veterans Memorial Stadium looking to rewrite the script.

The Hawks did just that, dominating Lake Havasu 29-6.

Gila Ridge came out with energy from the opening play, with Nohea Wiggins going unblocked on a safety blitz to set the tone for the Hawks' defense.

Lake Havasu struggled to find its footing early. A botched punt snap left Maddox Cosentino scrambling to pick up a first down, but Hector Ramirez finished the tackle started by Kaleb Potter.

Gila Ridge then had a special teams mistake of its own when a punt went awry. Kyle Gettings recovered the ball and looked for running room, but Lake Havasu's Dominic Bailey made a key block and helped secure the recovery to give the Knights strong field position.

Lake Havasu eventually went for it on fourth down but failed to capitalize.

Back on offense, Gila Ridge quarterback Isaac Soliz found Kanai Hongo, who turned a short opportunity into a first down with an impressive run. Hongo started left, cut toward the middle and eventually bounced outside to the right for the conversion.

A few plays later, Soliz took a shot downfield, looking to take advantage of a mismatch following an injury. Lake Havasu defensive back Khi Nunno, however, came away with the interception.

Gila Ridge took a 3-0 lead after a field goal and continued to apply pressure in the second quarter.

The Hawks went deep again, with Soliz delivering the ball on time to Hongo, who made an impressive grab over the defender for a big gain.

Gila Ridge eventually cashed in, handing the ball to Francisco Torres, who found the end zone to extend the lead to 10-0.

The Hawks took that advantage into halftime after Wiggins added another big defensive play with a goal-line interception.

Lake Havasu struggled all night when their starting quarterback went down with an injury, and the Gila Ridge defense continued to control the game.

The Hawks pulled away in the second half to complete the 29-6 victory and avenge last season's loss.

Gila Ridge will hit the road next week for a matchup against the Greenway Demons in Phoenix.