Ethan Holtzinger is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Williams Field High School for AZPreps365.com

The Williams Field Black Hawks  went head-to-head against the Desert Ridge Jaguars on Friday night in a 6A non-conference game.

The visiting Black Hawks came into the game looking for their third win of the season, after two huge victories in back-to-back weeks, and that’s exactly what they got with a final score of 30-6.

Heading into this week, Williams Field (3-1) has averaged 16 points in the fourth quarter this season, and that trend continued here, with two-thirds of its points coming in the last 10 minutes of the game.

“Yeah, I’d say that all year long, one thing that our team has done a really good job of is our halftime adjustments. You know, refocusing on what they’re doing and learning from the game as it goes,” said Black Hawks coach Steve Campbell.

The Williams Field offense managed to show signs of life late in the first half though, after quarterback Kody Guy delivered a 78-yard touchdown strike to receiver Trey Foster, which drew first blood and set the score to 7-0 before halftime.

Another low-scoring game is certainly not what Jaguars coach Roy Lopez was hoping for, but things were better for Desert Ridge (0-4) on the defensive side of the ball. The unit held the Black Hawks to just 10 points through the first three quarters, and racked up a couple of sacks as well.

“We have to be a little more efficient offensively, but our defense is tough, and they put us in some good positions. I liked that there weren’t any selfish plays, everyone just did their job,” Lopez remarked.

Defense was a big part of the game for Willilams Field as well, and outside linebacker Jacob Carrasco set the tone for the Black Hawk defense early on with his two first-half interceptions.

On top of that, Williams Field defensive tackle Andrew Schertz had two consecutive sacks with just 40 seconds left in the first half, effectively stalling whatever the Jaguars had gotten going on offense.

“I liked the way our defense played, they’re our veteran group. I told them that there were going to be some times this year where they would have to step up and carry a little extra weight, and they didn’t just do it tonight, but they did it a week ago as well,” Campbell said.

Later on, towards the end of the third quarter, Desert Ridge managed to capitalize on some confusion in the Black Hawks’ secondary for its best offensive play of the game.

Jaguars quarterback Andre Gonzales connected with receiver Braedon Brenner for an 85-yard reception, which would have been a touchdown if not for the unrelenting persistence from Black Hawks strong safety Bryson Raspberry.

Raspberry kept his focus on the play at hand, and he was able to track down Brenner at the 5-yard line for a touchdown-saving tackle.

“That’s what I loved the best. We had that blown coverage, and we’re sprinting down the field, and we make the tackle on the 5-yard line. That gave us a chance, that’s what good defenses do,” Campbell stated.

Williams Field will take on Red Mountain (4-0) next week in 6A East Valley Region play, while Desert Ridge looks ahead to their matchup against Mountain View (3-1) next Friday.