The Glendale Mountain Ridge flag football team dominated Mesa Mountain View, 30-0, on Thursday, Sept. 17, marking head coach Whitney Warmus' first win over the Toros since flag football became a sanctioned Arizona Interscholastic Association sport.
The Mountain Lions were led by junior quarterback Amiaya Tice, who tossed four touchdown passes.
The Toros, even with dual-threat QB Tierah Metcalf, had a hard time moving the ball at times. Their pass rush was excellent but not enough on an evening that belonged to Tice and the Mountain Lions.
Key plays
Toros' junior defensive back Kiya Shoemake intercepted Tice on Mountain Ridge's first series of the game at the 8:05 mark of the first quarter. But late in the quarter, Tice got the Mountain Lions going
with a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Allie Jensen, giving the Mountain Lions a 6-0 lead.
Tice found senior receiver Tahlia Hempen for a 20-yard score to push Mountain Ridge's lead to 13-0 with five minutes to go in the second quarter. Tice again connected with Hempen on a 37-yard TD pass later in the third quarter.
Key players
Mountain Ridge junior QB Amiaya Tice completed 18 of 31 passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns, along with two interceptions. She added 20 yards on the ground.
Mountain Lion's senior receiver Tahlia Hempen caught four passes for 77 yards and two scores.
Toros defensive back Kiya Shoemake intercepted two passes on the night.
Key quotes
Tice: "Something that worked well for me was just being able to read that defense. Getting the ball out quick, getting the ball to my playmakers. Everything was just going great tonight, we came with great intensity."
Coach Warmus: "We're doing the little things right so far. I don't think people expected us to beat this team. I've never beaten Mountain View. We lost to them in a championship game, so just a lot of personal feeling for me, but the credit goes to our team."
Mountain View coach Adam Robbs: "I think a lot of those instances where we were able to develop momentum, we just need to continue to do the little things that lead to that on a consistent basis. I think that's the biggest thing right now, consistency."
Up next
Mountain Ridge (2-0) will travel to Desert Vista (0-1) Sept. 22. Mountain View (0-1) will travel to Marana (1-1) the same day.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mountain Ridge flag football dominates Mesa Mountain View
