Following two narrow wins to open the season, the Higley Knights will travel to Tucson to take on the Mountain View Lions on Friday.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The Knights enter the Class 5A non-region game with a 2-0 record, with victories over Lancaster, California, Paraclete and Horizon. Higley won both of the high-scoring affairs by a combined eight points.

Down by two scores heading into the fourth quarter against Paraclete, Higley rallied with 21 points in the quarter to secure a one-point victory. The following week, it edged Horizon by seven points at The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.

Despite surrendering 78 points in those two games, Coach Eddy Zubey said he is confident in his defense.

“When they’ve had to buckle down and make plays and get stops, they have,” he said.

He believes that his team’s execution on the defensive side of the ball will be the main focus against the Lions.

Senior defensive end Ty Robinson and senior linebacker Logan Maxwell lead the defense. As juniors in 2017, both players each registered 13 sacks.

Robinson has at least five Division I scholarship offers, and Maxwell is committed to Utah State, according to Zubey.

As for the offense, it came out clicking right out of the gate, to the tune of 48 points and 38 points, respectively. In fact, no school in Arizona, regardless of conference, has scored more points in the past two years than Higley. Since 2016, the Knights averaged 52 points per game.

“We’re always going to be able to score points,” he said.

This season, senior quarterback Spencer Brasch leads the offensive attack. A commit to the University of California, Berkeley, Brasch is off to a hot start, leading the nation with 12 touchdown passes and having not thrown an interception.

“He’s an elite athlete,” Zubey said.

At 6 feet 4 inches tall, Brasch has been efficient through the air and getting multiple receivers involved in the offense, making it tough on opposing defenses.

“It doesn’t allow teams to key on one guy,” Zubey said. “He spreads the wealth.”

In the first two games, senior wide receivers Jaxen Gibbons and Coleman Owen have each hauled in three touchdowns.

Although Higley holds an undefeated record, Brasch said he is not satisfied

“I feel like we haven’t played our best,” Brasch said. “When we play our game, there should be no one that can play with us.”

Specifically, Brasch said his team was penalized too many times in its first two games. He also wants his offense to establish the run game against Marana.

Coach Bam McRae’s Mountain View team finds itself next on the schedule for Higley. The Lions are seeking their first win of the season following a 42-14 loss against Ironwood Ridge two weeks ago.

Sophomore quarterback Hayden Parson threw for 232 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Parson also added a touchdown on the ground.

Junior wide receiver Varney Larson was Parson’s main target in the opening game, bringing in eight passes for 112 yards and catching Parson’s touchdown pass.

Mountain View enters the matchup fresh off a bye.