Hawks rattled, suffer heartbreak at Crismon
Crismon cements program's first ever varsity win with thrilling 39-27 win over Gila Ridge
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Gila Ridge had a come from behind win snatched away from them Friday night in Queen Creek with less than 40 seconds to play in regulation.
The Hawks trailed 32-27 and worked their way to the Crismon five year line. On first and 10, Hawks QB handed the ball off to junior halfback Edan Porter who ran through a big hole between the right guard and tackle.
Lead blocker Payton Payan dominated his defender and actually tossed him into the path of Porter, stopping his momentum and allowing defender Kresean Boyd to rip the ball away and return it 95 yards for a Crismon Rattler game winning touchdown.
In the blink of an eye, Gila Ridge went from a dramatic win to a gut wrenching loss on Friday the 13th of all nights. The 39-27 win was the first ever for the Crismon varsity football program. The school first opened it's doors in July of 2022.
"All I can say is the team played hard throughout the game, but lacked the discipline throughout and that's what cost us the win," Gila Ridge head coach Jessica Slaughter said. "We'll look at the film, learn from this game and move forward."
In the first half the Hawks erased a 20-7 deficit and took at 27-20 lead in the third quarter on a 64 yard touchdown pass from QB Steven Navas to WR Gabriel Cota. Crismon answered with a touchdown but the game tying extra point was blocked by Gila Ridge junior Anderson LeSuer.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Hawks recovered a fumble at the Crismon 10 yard line. The hawks were stuffed on three consecutive downs and decided to go for it on fourth down. Navas pas was caught at the Rattler four yard line the but ruled out of bounds. The Hawks would turn the ball over on downs with 2:35 to play.
A Gila Ridge penalty on third down would keep the Crismon drive alive and on the very next play, the Rattler halfback found a hole and outran the Hawks en route to a 75 yard touchdown to give Crismon a 32-27 lead with the missed extra point try.
Senior QB Steven Navas led Gila Ridge down to the Rattler 5-yard line before the strip touchdown.
Navas finished the night 19-34 for 280 yards and 3 touchdown through the air. Gabriel Cota finished with 6 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Mikey Hayes had 6 grabs for 72 yards and a score. Kayden Potter added two field goals and three extra points.
The Hawks fall to 1-2 on the season and next will host Brawley on Friday, September 20th.
