Jack Pierson is a Cronkite ASU journalism student assigned to cover Tempe Preparatory Academy for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER-- The time on the scoreboard may have displayed zeros across the board, but Tempe Prep and Lincoln Prep put up more than 110 points combined. It was an absolute shootout and display of high-powered offenses Friday night, as the Lightning defeated the Knights 68-44 on the road.

Knight quarterback Diego Foster put together a fantastic night through the air and on the ground running despite the loss. Foster racked up five passing touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown as he showcased his ability to be a dual-threat quarterback.

“He’s just got that 'It' factor," said Tempe Prep coach Larry Cain. "He can do it both on the ground and he can do it in the air, and he’s got a strong arm. Whether he’s running left or right, he can throw the ball across the field. He’s a special kid.”

There were no punts, field goals, or extra points attempted in the fast-paced game. Both teams elected to go for it on all fourth downs, and both elected to go for two-point conversions after scoring a touchdown. This led to a very high-scoring and unique game.

“Our ideology is to get up as quick as possible…most points as soon as possible,” said Foster.

The game was extremely tight heading into the half. With just under :25 remaining in the second quarter, Lincoln Prep’s Eli Johnson fired a pass to receiver Logan Johnson for a 30-yard touchdown. The same connection would occur on the two-point conversion to tie the game at 36 at intermission.

The Lightning struck early in the the third quarter. Eli Johnson raced for a 65-yard touchdown on the first offensive play. The Lighning defense emerged from the locker room fired up and were utterly tenacious. It allowed only one score in the second half while forcing three fumbles, all of which resulted in scores for the Lightning.

Quarterback Eli Johnson was troublesome for the Knights. He racked up two passing touchdowns, and an astounding five rushing scores. Johnson led his offense to a turnover-free night and completely wore down the defense.

“We just beat ourselves," said Cain, "and there was such a threat that we needed to score, that it just made it so high pressure."

Tempe Prep did not stop the Lightning from scoring once in the battle at Chandler Prep. Every one of the 10 Lightning drives resulted in points, which frustrated Cain. “We just got to find some desire," he said. "Defense is about desire. We can gameplan all week, but if the kids don’t come out with desire and the want to on defense, you can’t play defense."

The Knights’ defensive struggles may be related to their personnel, or lack thereof. Just 20 players are listed on its MaxPreps.com roster, some of whom play on both sides of the ball out of necessity. The second half showcased the problems of having too few players, particularly when a football game morphs into a track meet.

“I think it was just us falling apart a little bit," said the Knight quarterback, Foster, "but that’s what happens when you only got 16-17 guys."

Tempe Prep moves to a 3-3 record on the season. It will head to Scottsdale next weekend for a battle against Cicero Prep.