Tyler Carlson
AIA Intern

Seton Catholic, Higley Battle for Desert Sky Crown in Finale

October 25, 2017 by Tyler Carlson, AZPreps365


The 4A Desert Sky region champion will be crowned Friday night when the Sentinels of Seton Catholic visit Higley High School to take on the Knights in a highly anticipated regular season finale.

No. 6 Seton Catholic (8-1, 3-0) enters Friday having completed a blowout victory over Casa Grande last weekend, 45-14. Offensively, the Sentinels were carried by a stellar performance from running back Nick Wade, who rushed for 206 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. Additionally, quarterback Vince Wallace threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, aiding Seton Catholic to 515 total yards.

The offensive attack was complimented by a Sentinel defense which forced the Casa Grande into four turnovers, including two interceptions from linebacker Michael Kenney.

Last Friday’s victory was a small sample of the winning formula Seton Catholic has relied on all season.

Offensively, Wallace and Wade have shouldered the load for the Sentinels. Wallace has thrown for 1,543 yards (7th in 4A) and 18 touchdowns. The duel-threat quarterback also has playmaking ability with his feet, having rushed for 469 yards as well.

Wade, meanwhile, has the opportunity on Friday to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark, entering the contest with 950 yards. While averaging 6.3 yards per carry, the junior has found the end zone 12 times on the ground for the Sentinels this season, while also proving himself a threat in the pass game, receiving 280 yards and an additional four touchdowns.

“(Wade’s) just a workhorse. He loves to play, he loves to compete,” said Seton Catholic head coach Gary Galante. “He just has a passion to play on a Friday night. He’s been doing that all year in whatever capacity we need him. He can catch the ball, block or obviously run the football.”

Behind Wallace and Wade, the Seton Catholic offense has been balanced, passing for 178.8 yards per game and rushing for 177.8, leading the Sentinels to almost 34 points per contest.

Defensively, the Sentinels have been stout, allowing opposing offenses to just 14.3 points per game through their nine contests. The attack is led by linebackers Max Kulak and Roman Decaro, who enter Friday with 61 tackles a piece.

Decaro has shown himself to be a force in the pass rush department as well, leading the team in sacks with seven. Coupled with the efforts of linemen Josh Hansell (three sacks) and Jacob Hansell (four sacks), Seton Catholic has collected 19 as a team this season.

“It’s really a simple thing,” said Galante on his team’s defensive approach. “11 is 1 - 11 guys doing a job. If we synchronize our movements and the things that we’re trying to do, we can get to the ball in a real hurry and try and do some things when we get there.”

Like Seton Catholic, No. 4 Higley (8-1, 3-0) will take the field Friday night coming off its own dominant win, defeating Marcos de Niza 59-3 on the road.

Quarterback Spencer Brasch was 14-of-22 in the contest, tossing 207 yards and completing four touchdowns. The junior was complimented by running back Draycen Hall, who rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns. The dynamic back also caught three passes for 51 yards and an additional score as the Knights rolled to their sixth straight victory.

The combination of Brasch and Hall has been effective for the Knights all season. Brasch has thrown for 1,303 yards, good for ninth in 4A, and rushed for an additional 733. Perhaps the most impressive attribute to the junior quarterback however, is the ability to protect the football. In 124 pass attempts this season, Brasch has yet to throw an interception while tossing 20 touchdown passes.

As the seventh-leading rusher in 4A, Hall has already eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground with 1,218 this season. The junior has also accounted for 25 touchdowns this season (2nd in 4A), 22 of them rushing, and has received for an additional 328 yards out of the backfield.

“(Hall) is a special player,” said Higley head coach Eddy Zubey. “Anytime he touches the ball you have the opportunity to score. He’s just the spark plug to our offense. He’s somebody that you know is going to come through. So far this season, he’s been the reason we’ve been off to such a hot start.”

The defensive side of the ball for the Knights has been impressive as well. Through nine games this season, the Knights defense has allowed just 9.1 points per game to opponents this season while holding offenses under 200 yards per game.

“(Our defense) has really helped us become a more complete football team,” said Zubey. “That was probably the last piece to this program’s the puzzle to becoming a championship caliber team. We’ve been able to take away team’s top running plays and force them into second and long and third and long situations, and just allowing our guys to get upfield.”

The long down-and-distance has also allowed Higley to develop a suffocating pass rush. Behind sack leaders Logan Maxwell and Ty Robinson, who have combined for 18 on the year, the Knights have sacked opposing quarterbacks 46.5 times this season.

Higley has also benefitted from the dominant play of standout linebacker Cade Matthews. Matthews leads the team in tackles with 102 in 2017, 51 more than his next closest teammates, Keith Wesley and Adrian Eastman who have each had strong seasons themselves, collecting 51 tackles each.

There will be a lot at stake as the teams take the field Friday night at Higley, with the winner capturing the Desert Sky region championship and prime playoff position as the opening round begins next week.

The position marks a drastic turnaround for Seton Catholic, who finished last season 4-6 and winless in Desert Sky play, including a 66-17 drubbing at the hands of eventual semi-finalist, Higley in 2016. But the Sentinels have turned their fortunes around and hope to make a statement against a tough regional foe Friday night.

“I’m very proud of them,” said Galante on his team’s season. “I would like to go on a high note into the playoffs and control our destiny. The most important part is that these guys leave it all on the field and hopefully we come out victorious.”

Friday’s game kicks at 7 p.m. and can be streamed live at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/azpreps365/0a6fd550f1 and heard on the Fanatic (1580 AM and 99.3 FM).