Joseph Sciarrino is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Seton Catholic Preparatory High School for AZPreps365.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Mixed with emotions, Seton Catholic flag football head coach Billy Baker and Scottsdale Preparatory head coach Josh Baloney hugged one another in the middle of the field during the fourth quarter. 

On the ground laid an injured Spartan wide receiver who winced in pain after a play. 

The scene on Nov. 3 at Scottsdale Preparatory Academy consisted of kneeling players, silent fans and an athletic staff that worked to aid the situation.

The moment bounded everyone together in solidarity.

And when the Spartan exited the field on a stretcher, both teams decided to conclude their last game of the season before the final whistle, granting the Sentinels (8-3 3A 3A Conforence, 3-1 3A Central) a 40-0 victory. The Spartans  (6-6 3A 3A Conference, 1-3 3A Central) only trailed by 14 points going into halftime. But in the third quarter, Baker’s squad tallied 26 unanswered points, essentially sealing the game. 

“In the third quarter, we just went back to the basics,” Baker said. “Throwing the ball underneath them and making them come up and get us. That’s what we changed.”

Although the post-game atmosphere didn’t feel like it, Seton Catholic made history against the Spartans.

Its eighth win set the program’s best regular-season conference record, which used to be six.

It also marked the team’s second straight season with a playoff berth after missing out in its inaugural campaign three years ago.

Despite the achievements, Baker said there’s no time to celebrate.

“We have work to do,” Baker said. “We have four more games [in the playoffs]. I told the girls four more games. Hopefully we stay at three [in the 3A Conference rankings, according to AZPreps365 as of Tuesday] so we don’t have to face that monster of Scottsdale Christian before the championship game. Benjamin Franklin [High School] ain’t no slouch either, but we want revenge back at them, and I think we can beat them.”

One Sentinel who played a significant role in the team’s historic success this year was junior quarterback Ava Pongratz.

Entering the game, Pongratz held the top spot in both passing (2759) and total offensive yards (3208) on the 3A Conference leaderboard.

However, the Spartan defense made Pongratz look human in the first half.

The quarterback threw two interceptions, six incompletions and had one touchdown pass in the first two quarters.

Not only that, senior Spartan athlete Alexis Dy sacked Pongratz twice in the first half, 

with one occurring on a fourth down attempt.

“We zoned in on their best receiver [junior Sentinels wide receiver Giovanna “G” Di Scala], and we made an effort to get to her early,” Baloney said. “[That] led to our rusher being able to get back there to that quarterback. Even when [Pongratz] wasn’t sure where our rusher was, she was still weary, and that caused a lot of dysfunction early on.”

Di Scala scored two touchdowns that required a bit of luck in the first half.

On the first drive of the game, Di Scala received a direct snap inside the 10-yard line and narrowly beat the Spartan defense in a foot race to the end zone.

Then on the Sentinels' second-to-last drive in the first half, freshman wide receiver Lucianna “LuLu” Barone caught a five-yard pass which turned into something remarkable.

With pressure in her face, Barone lateralled the ball toward Di Scala, who then maneuvered past the defense for a 30-plus yard touchdown.

Although the highlight-worthy play marked Di Scala’s final end zone visit, the Spartan defense collapsed in the third quarter after freshman Sentinels wide receiver Macy Becker, sophomore running back Jessica Goetter and junior running back Scarlett Olivares tallied four straight touchdown drives.

“Everybody just clicked,” Di Scala said. “[They] knew where they were supposed to go and play, and then that’s when we connected.”

While Seton Catholic’s offense dominated in the second half, its defense flattened any comeback chances from Scottsdale Preparatory. 

The Spartans failed to cross the 50-yard line, completed just two passes and threw three interceptions within their own 40-yard line in the third quarter.

“Watching film really did help because we knew who they were sending deep,” Di Scala said. “Then just that communication, the reading, I made sure to tell everybody from the safety position what I could see.”

Although brackets and rankings were the last thing on anyone’s mind at the end of the game, Tuesday’s result strengthened the Sentinels' momentum heading into the playoffs.

Since Sept. 26, Seton Catholic has won six of its last seven regular season games, has outscored its opponents by 185 points and has won all of its road games.

However, Baker said he believes there are still improvements to be made before Nov. 10, when Seton Catholic hosts Arete Prep in the 3A state playoffs.

“[We need] to fine-tune everything,” Baker said.