Tyler Carlson
AIA Intern

Horizon Edges Desert Mountain in Shootout

October 14, 2017 by Tyler Carlson, AZPreps365


There was plenty of offense to go around Friday night at Horizon High School, as the Huskies defeated the Wolves of Desert Mountain in a thrilling 41-38 shootout.

Things did not start as well as they ended for the Huskies, however, as Desert Mountain took advantage of a Horizon fumble on the second play from scrimmage, recovering at the Huskies 27-yard line. Four plays later, Wolves running back Nick Hill took it to the house from 27 yards out to open the scoring.

Following a Horizon punt on the ensuing drive, the Wolves showcased their quick-score ability, as quarterback Kedon Slovis, who was 22-of-34 for 387 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, found Armand Reichelt downfield for a 70-yard touchdown, putting the Wolves ahead 14-0 and stunning a packed-out homecoming crowd.

But the Huskies were far from finished and showing little panic. Quarterback Isaac Enriquez and the Horizon offense came to life, charging downfield, rushing the ball eight times on a bruising 80-yard drive, capped by a 25-yard touchdown run from Enriquez, who totaled three scores and 102 yards rushing on the evening.

The Huskies then evened the score just two plays later when cornerback Carter Koch intercepted Slovis, returning the ball seven yards for the score.

The Wolves quarterback displayed a short memory and on the next offensive play tossed another missile downfield, this time finding star receiver Josh Walker for an 80-yard score, putting the Wolves back on top 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.

However, the rest of the half would belong to Horizon. Aided by a pair of methodical 12-play drives and another Slovis interception deep inside Desert Mountain territory, the Huskies scored 17 unanswered points and appeared to be pulling away, taking a 31-21 lead to the locker room.

But as the second half began, Desert Mountain slowly shifted momentum back to its sideline, finding inspiration from their defense, who forced Horizon into a turnover on downs in their first possession of the second half, giving the Wolves the ball at midfield, which they turned into three points.

Following another Desert Mountain defensive stand, stalling the Huskies into a three-and-out, the Wolves offense found a spark from Hill, who rushed the ball five times for 32 yards and caught a pass for 23 more on the ensuing Desert Mountain drive, willing the Wolves’ offense down the field and knotting the score at 31-31 in the fourth quarter.

But just as the Wolves appeared poised for a comeback, hoping to take the lead on their next possession, Horizon’s run-game came to life once again, this time in explosive fashion as slot back Cameron Katz burst through the Desert Mountain defense, galloping in for a 70-yard touchdown run.

After a quick Wolves three-and-out, the Huskies once again turned the game over to the rushing attack, led this time by senior back Shane Andrews. Andrews, who rushed for 77 yards on 12 carries on the evening and aided Horizon to 312 yards rushing, picked up 20 yards on the drive and a key first down to keep the clock running as the Huskies appeared to be eyeing the dagger.

“All of our little runs that we have been practicing all week based off their defense, they were just opening up perfectly,” said Andrews on the drive. “There weren’t runs for 20-plus yards, but for the first downs that we needed, they were there perfectly. Our O-Line was doing great with that.”

But a negative play and costly holding call on consecutive plays set up fourth and long for Horizon on the edge of field goal range. Rather than attempt to pin the Wolves deep, the Huskies elected to send kicker Cole Johnson onto the field to try a long field goal. The gamble paid off as the junior drilled the 47-yard attempt with room to spare, putting Horizon up two scores with 1:52 remaining.

“He just dialed in, ice in his veins, locked it in and hit from 47 yards,” said Huskies head coach Ty Wisdom. “He’s been great for us all year, so I didn’t have any hesitation. I looked at it, 30-yard, 47-yarder, knock it in and he did it. That’s a huge kick.”

Desert Mountain refused to go quietly and scored once again on the ensuing drive, drawing within three with just over nine seconds remaining. The touchdown proved to be too little, too late for the Wolves as Horizon fell on the onside attempt, sealing a wild victory.

With the win, the Huskies avenge last season’s crushing loss to Desert Mountain, which effectively derailed Horizon’s season, who went on to lose each of the last two contests that season and missed the playoffs.

“Last year, we were up at halftime against (Desert Mountain). We came back and scored seven points in the second half and they came back and won,” said Andrews. “So, this was huge for us, we needed this win, and now it’s on to Boulder Creek.”

The victory also ensures Horizon keeps pace with Pinnacle High School for first place in the Desert Valley Region. The Huskies will see the Pioneers in the last weekend of the season at Pinnacle in a game that could very well determine the Desert Valley Champion.

But Wisdom and his team prefer to take things one step at a time, enjoying the ride as it comes along.

“We go out and compete every Friday night and we want to win,” said Wisdom. “This is fun, this is high school sports, so don’t make it bigger than it is. If you don’t, (the players) are going to go out and play hard for you.”