Charlie Limoncelli is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Apollo High School for AZPreps365.com

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Apollo High School Hawks football team set up at the opposing four-yard line halfway through the first quarter and needing a touchdown to cap off their answering drive and cut the Goldwater Bulldogs’ lead. 

Hawks senior quarterback Sylus Stevenson lined his offense up wide, took the snap and fired a strike to the back left corner of the end zone where senior wide receiver Julian Gagnon Garcia snagged the pass for a TD. 

The packed homecoming crowd erupted as Apollo scored, sparking the offensive momentum it needed to keep up with the Bulldogs. Ultimately, the Hawks (3-3) fell short in their Friday, October 4 homecoming thriller. Goldwater (4-2) pounded the rock en route to a 43-37 road victory over an Apollo defense that simply couldn’t stop it. 

“All they do is run the ball,” Apollo Head Coach Aaron Walls said before the game. “They’re gonna put everybody in the box and try to jam it down your throat.”

That is precisely what the Bulldogs did, utilizing multiple back formations to score all six of their touchdowns on rushing attempts. Senior running back Dylan Hayhurst led the charge with four TDs from 47, 31, eight and four yards away. Goldwater varied its offensive tempo in order to set up chunk run plays that gashed a vulnerable Hawks defense. 

Entering Friday’s game, Apollo’s defense had been working on physicality and preparing for the Bulldogs rushing attack.

“I can see that we’ve been more selfless together, and when it comes to setting the edge and making plays, we’ve been executing,” senior linebacker Sar Thaw said before the game. “I worked on learning to read the O-line on the Goldwater side, because they tell me where to go.”

Thaw and the Hawks attacked the line of scrimmage, but patient running and missed tackles allowed the Bulldogs runners to get to the second level.

Despite being down 23-16 at halftime, Apollo’s offense kept it alive, largely thanks to a career game from quarterback Stevenson. During the first drive of the second half, Stevenson dropped a dime over the middle to senior wide receiver, Isaiah White, at Goldwater’s 45-yard line. White broke a tackle, sprinted down the left side of the field and scored to tie the game at 23-23.

“Their defense is more of a cover five-man [scheme],” Stevenson said in an interview before the game. “So, when there’s seven [defenders] in the box, it's basically man outside.”

Stevenson exploited the man coverage his receivers faced on the outside to carve up the Bulldogs’ defense, utilizing a combination of quick throws and deep shots out of four and five receiver sets. He finished the game 31/40 with 401 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT passing. 

With 2:06 left in the fourth quarter, Stevenson led the Hawks down the field to the Goldwater 2-yard line. Instead of draining the clock and running for a touchdown in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter, Apollo spiked the ball and proceeded to take a delay of game penalty to bring up 2nd-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Stevenson dropped back and again fired to the back left corner of the end zone, but his pass was intercepted, sealing the game.