DJ Grant is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover high school football for AZPreps365.com

FLAGSTAFF — Early mistakes and turnovers put Flagstaff High School into a hole it could not overcome as the Eagles fell to Paradise Honors High School 56-14 Friday, Sept. 4 at the Walkup Skydome.

Paradise Honors scored the game's first 21 points. Senior running back Chuck VanDyke opened the scoring with a long touchdown run before the Panthers recovered a touched ball off Flagstaff in the end zone for another score.

Paradise Honors senior Ty Woodhouse-Gandy added to the lead when he started his run to the left, reversed direction and went across the field for a touchdown. His score gave the Panthers a 21-0 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter.

Flagstaff responded behind senior running back Adan Garcia. He scored both of the Eagles' touchdowns, inclduing a rushing score late in the first quarter that cut the deficiut to 21-7.

VanDyke answered with anothe rushing touchdown early in the second quarter. Garcia then scored again with 4:18 remaining before halftime, bringing Flagstaff within 28-14.

The Eagles' followed Garcia's second touchdown with a surprise onside kick, which they recovered to give themselves another opporutinity to score. However, the drive ended on a failed fourth-down attempt.

"Special teams is always that third part of the game," Flagstaff coach Andres Delgadillo said. "You always want to make sure you have something like that in your back pocket."

The Panthers quickly regained momentum before the break. Madden Obregon was left wide open for a touchdown recpetion with 1:03 remaining, sending Paradise Honors into halftime with a 35-14 advantage.

Flagstaff opened the second half with a promising drive, but Paradise Honors intercepted a pass and took possession. The Panthers turned the takeaway into points when quarterback Bryson Sinsheimer connected with Woodhouse-Gandy for a fourth-down touchdown pass with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter.

The Eagles' next possesion ended on fourth down when quarterback Broden Custer was instantly pressured and sacked by Paradise Honors senior Josh Ahia. VanDyke later finished the short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, extending the Panthers' lead to 49-14 late in the third quarter.

Flagstaff continued to fight in the fourth quarter and moved the ball across midfield. However, a potential first-down completion was dropped on fourth-and-3, ending the Eagles' drive.

Delgadillo said penalties and other self-created mistakes were another area in which the Eagles needed to improve.

"We never want to put the game into refs' hands," Delgadillo said. "Some go our way, and some don't go our way. We can't complain about it. All we can do is try to be more disciplined."

Paradise Honors added its final score when quarterback Ryan Rowlands connected with Kellan Roiko for a 35-yard touchdown with 6:35 remaining. Zachary Greer recorded another interception for the Panthers on Flagsatff's following possesion.

The victory improved Paradise Honors to 2-0, while Flagstaff dropped to 0-2. The Eagles will travel to face Tempe High School on Sept. 11.

Despite the result, Delgadillo's postgame message centered on the progress made by his young team and the need to continue improving.

"We've got to continue to grow," Delgadillo said. "They've really turned around their performace from what was expected at the beginning of the season to where we're at now." "With a younger team, you make young mistakes, so we've got to do a better job of capitalizing."