Highland's flag football team has tightened its grip on the top spot in the 6A conference and state.
In a flag football matchup between two top-ranked Arizona teams, No. 1 Gilbert Highland defeated No. 3 Glendale Mountain Ridge (Republic rankings), 55-6, on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Highland moves to 4-0 and has outscored opponents 214-35 this season.
“They made us uncomfortable, and I told the team even after, regardless of the score, I mean we felt it,'' Highland coach Kenny Golladay said. "That's what we need to learn and grow. To have that, it's great; it is phenomenal for us.”
Highland, also ranked No. 9 in the nation by USA TODAY, is clearly separating itself as the best high school flag football team in Arizona. The Hawks previously had dominant
wins over No. 2 Gilbert Campo Verde (41-16) and Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor (55-13), which was ranked No. 8 at the time.
But Golladay says the team doesn’t talk specifics — the word state championship isn’t mentioned — and instead focuses on “going on the distance.”
Highland has one more regular season game, against Mesa Oct. 13, before the Oct. 15 Fiesta Bowl Copper State Invitational, which brings together some of the top teams in each conference at Arizona State University.
“I think we're going to get tested in a couple of weeks,” Golladay said Wednesday. “We've got the Fiesta Bowl tournament, and that's what we're looking forward to. So for them to make us uncomfortable tonight is great. I mean it's healthy and we need to get those feelings in because we're gonna get those at the tournament coming up. I don't think anyone's really having big heads or overconfidence right now. We're pretty focused and dialed in.”
Junior quarterback Lacie Nemchick said the team is building confidence, but cautiously.
“I honestly think people could think we're going to go into each game confident, but we're really not,'' Nemchick said. "We know we have something to prove every game. We want to keep going in the right direction and we still have stuff to prove. We still have a long season. We're only four games in, we have tournaments and a lot more games coming up.”
Highland scored early and often against Mountain Ridge. Nemchick capped off a 10-play scoring drive to start the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Alyha Morgan.
Two plays later, Morgan intercepted Mountain Ridge junior quarterback Amiaya Tice and returned it 15 yards to go up 13-0 with 4:57 left in the first quarter. Morgan, in her first season of varsity flag football, picked off another pass for a pick-six later in the fourth.
“Her (Morgan) work ethic is great,” Golladay said. “But more importantly, the girls just love her. I mean the energy that she brings. She's more animated, brings a lot of energy on the sideline, so that's really helpful. You can see, she’s extremely athletic, both sides of the ball. Doesn't matter where you put her, she can accomplish it.”
Highland led 27-0 at half after a Nemchick one-yard touchdown run and then a one-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Ela Witcher. Nemchick finished with six total touchdowns, five passing and one rushing.
Highland is about to get reinforcements. Two key transfers, sophomore running back/wide receiver and rusher Kayden Kisler (Chandler Hamilton) and junior wide receiver and defensive back Ella Mutters (Campo Verde), will soon become eligible.
For Mountain Ridge (3-1), it was a disappointing effort after a hot start to the season.
Mountain Ridge coach Whitney Warmus wants the team to feel the sting of the loss, but use it to their benefit heading into October and November.
“I feel like it's gonna be a chip on the shoulder right now,” Warmus said. “Realistically, I think the direction we go after this game is gonna be a tell of how the season's gonna end up. But I'm really hoping to use that as motivation. It's going to be about how bad they want it and how much they're gonna work moving forward.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @RLSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Highland flag football routs Mountain Ridge, tightens grip on 6A
