Vincent Deangelis is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Camelback High School for AZPreps265.com

PHOENIX- “Confidence” was a word that was thrown out a lot as the Camelback Spartans got their first win of the season tonight.

After losing their first two games of the season, the Spartans made it look easy in front of their home fans tonight against the Copper Canyon Aztecs, winning 26-20. It was Camelback High School’s Armed Forces Night and the team was firing on all cylinders. Amos Slokan fielded the opening kickoff and returned it for a touchdown. A few minutes later the Spartan defense scored on a 60-yard fumble scoop-and-score.

Camelback led 12-0 before its offense even stepped onto the field halfway through the first quarter. The offense quickly became the Spartans' third unit to score a touchdown in the first quarter to grow the lead to 20-0.

Slokan, Camelback's lead tailback, rushed for a touchdown as well. He punished the Aztec defense all night. “It was surreal, I couldn’t believe it,” said Slokan, referring to his TD return on the night's opening kickoff. “The hole was there, I shot up it and scored”.

Spartan freshman quarterback Luis Juarez took the field for the first time as the starter and took advantage of his opportunity. “Greatest performance I have ever seen by a freshman,” said Spartan coach Brandon McNutt. “He had confidence, and he was mature beyond his age”. 

Juarez only ended up with one passing touchdown, but he and Slokan clearly made a difference for the Camelback offense tonight. “To be honest I was scared at first,” said Juarez, “When the defense stepped up early, that hyped me up quick, and then we all stepped up, everyone did well today.”

In the second quarter Copper Canyon found its footing, scoring a pair of unanswered touchdowns. By halftime Camelback's 20-0 lead had shrunk to 20-13.

With eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Camelback took possession. Taking pressure off his freshman signal-caller, McNutt called Slokan's number on a steady diet of rushing plays. The drive burned five minutes of clock and conclued with Slokan carrying the football into the end zone. “It was the plan for me to get the ball a lot,” said Slokan. 

The Camelback defense did the rest of the work, holding the Aztecs to three points in the second half and forcing a fumble in the dying minutes of the game to secure the victory. “The last two games we went into the half leading and lost," said McNutt. "This is the first half we actually kept. It's a good start." 

Even though the Spartans won tonight, there is still a lot of work to do for Camelback. “I’m not satisfied,” said McNutt. “This is not what we envisioned, we envisioned going to the playoffs”. 

With a 1-2 record the Spartans will travel to Carl Hayden Community to face the Falcons, looking to build upon the newly found confidence within the team.