Edgardo Soto
ASU Student Journalist

Ironwood finds a new quarterback in a loss to Sunnyslope

September 30, 2022 by Edgardo Soto, Arizona State University


Ironwood's Noah Walker (1) throws a pass on Thursday night (Edgardo Soto/AZPreps365)

Edgardo Soto is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Ironwood High School for AZPreps365.com

Sunnyslope’s Luke Moga had five touchdowns Thursday night, which proved too much for the Ironwood Eagles in a 42-14 loss at Chuck Esquivel Stadium. 

Moga was on fire from the start. His first pass attempt went for a touchdown to Vikings wide receiver Keynon Clark. Moga did not let up as he finished with five touchdowns, one on the ground and four through the air. 

Vikings coach John Morgando wasn't surprised by Moga’s performance as this was the game plan all week. 

“We focused on fundamentals this week,” Morgando said after his team improved to 3-2. “Doing our job and not somebody else's helped us, and because of that, we were able to distribute the ball as much as we did.”

The Eagles (1-4) were without quarterback Connor Monahan following speculation that he had quit the team. Head coach Christopher Rizzo confirmed the report but declined to comment on how things transpired. He did, however, have nothing but respect for his former quarterback.

“Connor has been nothing but a valuable asset while he was around,” Rizzo said. “He's an incredible young man with a bright future ahead of him in whatever he wants to do.”

Thursday’s starter was sophomore Connor Crane, but after a slow start on offense, Rizzo inserted freshman Noah Walker midway through the second quarter. 

Walker gave the offense a much-needed spark. Looking comfortable and poised, he made plays with his legs and arm. He finished with 129 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 14-of-24 passing. 

Rizzo was pleased with Walker's performance, noting that if he hadn't suffered an injury in last week's win against Kellis, he would have started Thursday.

“The reason we didn't give him the nod to start was because we are worried about a shoulder injury that he picked up last week at Kellis,” Rizzo said. “Noah told us he was good to go. He wanted to be a warrior, so we let him go.”

Walker’s arm looked great. He threw with zip to receivers up the middle and with touch to receivers near the sideline. 

Walker knows Thursday's outcome was brutal, but he has confidence the team can put it together next week. 

“We just got to keep going,” Walker said. “Even though we're losing, we just got to keep going. If we can learn from our mistakes and do what we did in the second half, we’ll be fine.”

Rizzo has the utmost confidence in his quarterback. 

“He's the guy we're going to lean on moving forward,” Rizzo said. “A lot of guys in the locker room have accepted that we've turned over the keys to him, so we're going to run through him moving forward. He's going to get a lot of game experience. He's a true freshman, and hopefully, he's a guy that will be here for a long time and have a great career. We're excited about Noah.”

The Eagles face off against the Agua Fria Owls (1-3) next Friday.