CAMP VERDE — Justin Smith scored four touchdowns, quarterback Zayden Turnbell tossed two scores and ran for another, and No. 9-seeded Camp Verde advanced to the second round of the 2A state playoffs with a 49-7 win over No. 24 Bourgade Catholic on Friday night.

It is the second straight victory for the Cowboys (8-2, 3-2 2A Metro 3) since they gave top-seeded Scottsdale Christian all they could handle and more in Week 8.

“Justin Smith is the guy. There’s not much more to say about him. He missed out on that first team All-Region award last year, which is crazy to me for what he does. He’s the best [player] we got,” Camp Verde coach Aaron Gronwald said. “He’s our guy.”

After the two teams were tied 0-0 after the first quarter of play, Turnbell opened up the game’s scoring finding an open Smith in the flat as he was able to get the corner and sprinted down the right sideline for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 7-0.

With 6:10 to play in the first half, Smith had a 6-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0. Then on Bourgade Catholic’s ensuing possession, a punt block by the Cowboys gave Alex Jiminez quite the opportunity as he fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown, making it 20-0 just like that with 3:52 to play in the second quarter.

“First half, we started off pretty slow. But, the second half, I really enjoyed playing in the heavy rain. Haven’t done that very often. I think our team really locked in the second half,” Smith said.

In the second half, Turnbell found Smith on the very same play down the right sideline, this time a 56-yard touchdown run to make it 28-0 and they never looked back.

“We need to keep improving, keep adding bricks to the pile,” Smith said about the Cowboys, which have now made the state playoffs six straight seasons.

After an Eli Salas touchdown pass to Ozbaldo Ruelas with 7:27 to go in the third quarter, Camp Verde added two more scores for good measure, one of which came late as heavy rains hit the area. Izaiah Honwytewa scored on a 30-yard run and Smith added his fourth touchdown of the night to wrap things up.

UP NEXT

Camp Verde now travels south to No. 8-seeded Phoenix Christian (7-3, 5-0 2A Metro 4), which hasn’t made the state playoffs since 2020.

Gronwald said his club is going to go into it like any other Friday night under the lights.

“We haven’t seen them much this year, and we haven’t played them in a couple years. We don’t have much film, so we’ll have to get those exchanged to see what they do,” Gronwald said. “It’s high school football and anything can happen.”

Bourgade Catholic’s (6-5, 1-4 2A Metro 3) season comes to an end.

Kickoff between Camp Verde and Phoenix Christian is set for Friday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X and Instagram at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.