Andrew Lwowski is a Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Vista for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Desert Vista, which failed to win a game in 2020, notched its second victory of the season under first-year coach Ty Wisdom. Quarterback Jackson Akins and running back Devon Grubbs shredded across-I-10 rival Corona del Sol in a 52-7 blowout victory.

The Thunder have found a rhythm under Wisdom after their second straight blow-out win. In their home opener in the Ahwatukee section of Phoenix, the Thunder came out guns blazing. The took a commanding 17-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

Akins, a junior, completed 14 of 18 passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He often worked with favorable field position thanks to a tenacious Thunder defense that forced four turnovers. 

Grubbs, a senior, tore through the Aztec defense for 124 yards and two touchdowns off 20 carries. The Thunder offensive line aided in his success. “I couldn’t do it without my O-Line, they’re the ones that was setting up the blocks,” Grubbs said. “They were dominating – if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to be hitting gaps and making big plays. We’re all big, we’re all athletic, but we couldn’t do it without coach (Wisdom’s) strategic play calling.”

 

Both Akins and Grubbs said the team is older and more experienced than a year ago. “Since we got that year under our belt, we got a chip on our shoulder so we have something mentally driving us to be better,” Grubbs said. “We’re all excited. We’re all hungry to win.”

In his inaugural home game Wisdom said he was just excited for the kids. "They deserve this," said Wisdom, who built a successful program at Phoenix Horizon the previous five years. "They’ve been working their butts off since I got here in December.”

Wisdom credited his star-studded roster for their big win. “Players make plays," said Wisdom. "When you have guys like Devon Grubbs and Mekhi Hibbler and Michael Allison, you win games because of players and these guys made plays tonight.”

Akins attributes the team’s success to practicing the Aztecs defensive scheme in practice. “We know they go 3-4, 4-3, we know they go two different formations,” Akins said. “We worked it – we know they shift, too, so we worked that in practice and were just prepared for it.”

Wisdom has taken control of the program and has led it back to the Thunder way: winning. “We have a lot of talented kids, they believe in what they’re doing,” Wisdom said. “High school football is such a confidence thing, such a momentum thing. When you get things rolling, this team has gotten better each week and I just told the team ‘We’re not near our ceiling.’”

The Thunder, now 2-1, are riding the wave of momentum that comes with a two-game win streak. They will look to extend it over their toughest test of the season next week at home against Highland. The Aztecs fell to 0-3 on the season and have more questions than they do answers.