Christopher Martinez is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Glendale High School for AZPreps365.com

GLENDALE — With the Pride Cup on the line, the lights shined bright on a back and forth affair. Glendale claimed the cup over Independence with a 35-32 home win.

It was the first time in three years Glendale (4-2, 1-0 4A Black Canyon) had won this regional rivalry. Glendale's 38-32 win in 2023 was the last win in the series. The Pride Cup is akin to the Territorial Cup that is played between Arizona State and Arizona each year.

"It felt really good because the past three years we lost every time," Glendale quarterback and wide receiver Michael Anguiano said, "I had trust (in) my coaches, my QB, and (I) just had him throw it up and handle the rest."
The Pride Cup is as shown (Photo Courtesy of Christopher Martinez/AIA)

This is the third straight win for Glendale and a two-win improvement so far from the 2025 team that went 2-7.

It starts with my (assistant) coaches," head coach Wilber Rivera said. "I thank these kids and coaches for believing in me and trusting me as a head coach."

Michael Anguiano caught a game-sealing 21-yard touchdown that put the Cardinals up 35-32 before a blocked extra point with 41 seconds left in the game. Independence got the ball back and a throw to senior Noah Heredia on 3rd and 8 was short as the game clock expired and a defensive stand secured the win. 

"I knew he was going to catch it," senior quarterback Robert Casas said. "I've never had anything like it in high school, I've never had a walk-off touchdown."

Anguiano had a monster game with four receiving touchdowns and one interception. His first touchdown came from a long 46-yard touchdown catch with 10 minutes in the second quarter to put Glendale on the board after starting the game down 14-6.

It was a busy day for Independence senior quarterback Aaron Navarro, who racked up two rushing touchdowns and put the Patriots up 7-0. 

After Glendale received the ball on the subsequent drive, it failed on a fourth-down fake punt to give the ball back to Independence (0-6, 0-1) at the start of the second quarter.

Senior running back Leki Le-Uh turned that into a 40-yard touchdown to put the Patriots up 13-0 after a missed extra point.

The seesaw of momentum was back and forth throughout the game, Glendale trailed 17-13 at halftime but clawed its way back after the seemingly slow start.

Noah Heredia caught a 25-yard touchdown who earned the only score from a skill-position player in the third quarter, to help put the Cardinals up 20-17.

In the fourth quarter with 7:19 remaining, Anguiano found space in the defense to haul in a 63-yard receiving touchdown to give the Cardinals a 29-24 lead and send the Glendale home crowd into a loud roar.

With five minutes left in the game, Navarro broke free for a 64-yard touchdown to give Independence a 30-29 lead with five minutes remaining.

Despite the loss, Indepence head coach Shane Hagen said he was proud of the way his team was able to fight hard.

"We knew we weren't going to quit," Hagen said. "We made too many mistakes in the secondary, but, I mean, the boys battled hard."