Adam Beadle is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication student assigned to cover Williams Field High School for AZPreps365.com.

Dropping two straight coming into Tuesday night’s rivalry matchup against 6A Fiesta Region foe Higley, Williams Field was looking for a bounce-back win but fell just short, losing 24-14.

Williams Field (4-7) was able to rebound from a 10-0 halftime deficit to take a 14-10 lead in the third quarter, thanks to a Pick-6 by senior linebacker and wide receiver Zoe Zuviate to open the second half, and a touchdown reception by senior wide receiver Myah Rayburn.

However, the defense couldn’t keep up with the intensity Higley (4-6) played with in the fourth quarter.

“All we needed was one less minute on the clock,” Williams Field coach Steve Brody said. “That’s all we needed. Our defense was on for an awful long time, and one stop was all we needed to seal that game.”

Higley’s 11-play scoring drive late in the fourth enabled the Knights to take a three-point lead with just over a minute remaining in the game.

As junior kicker Abigail Meservey warmed up on the sideline for Williams Field in hopes of the offense putting her in range to tie the game with a field goal, the freshman duo of quarterback Berkley Drake and wide receiver Tatum King helped drive Williams Field near midfield with around 30 seconds left in the game.

Just when the Black Hawks were getting close to field goal range, Drake threw up a pass on third-and-long that was tipped, caught, and returned for a touchdown by Higley junior wide receiver and defensive back Jayla Freeman, resulting in Drake’s fourth interception of the game.

“It wasn't designed to be thrown up,” Brody said. “It was designed to kind of go to the boundaries, but that last play, I needed 10 yards, and we were lined up in the wrong positions. Unfortunately, it is what it is.”

Although the Williams Field’s defense couldn’t keep up in the final quarter, the Black Hawks dominated defensively through the first three, which can be attributed to five total sacks from senior rusher Nevah Mejia, the opening pick-6 by Zuviate in the second half.

“Defense is awesome,” Brody said. “Like I said, if we had one last minute on the clock. That game's ours… They came out with the intensity that they needed in the second half.”

Despite the loss, Mejia felt good about her performance.

“I mean, it feels good,” Mejia said. “I was hurt for two games, and I came back and I earned myself five sacks.”

Defensive coordinator Brandon Brody, the son of head coach Steve Brody, also felt confident about the way the Black Hawks' defense attacked Higley.

“(Linebackers) were making heck of some plays, even the corners with some challenging tasks to make some stops,” Brandon Brody said. “But we had a short field a lot of times, and we came out and fought, and that's all I could ask for.”

Now, with just one game remaining on its schedule, a matchup at Queen Creek Wednesday night, and the possibility of making the playoffs slim, Mejia said both the offense and defense must continue to grow together.

“We have to build a strong mindset and trust each other,” Mejia said.