Skyline football will host the undefeated Highland Hawks in its home opener on Friday.

Skyline is coming off a 17-14 loss to Desert Ridge last week. After clawing back from a 14-0 deficit at halftime, the Coyotes tied the game but conceded a late field goal to go 1-2 on the season.

Skyline looks to get back in the win column when it welcomes the high-octane offense of Highland.

Skyline head coach Angelo Paffumi recognizes the scoring potential of Highland’s offense.

“They are kind of loaded on offense. They’ve been scoring a lot of points lately,” Paffumi said.

In its first three games Highland has outscored opponents 164-55 and is averaging just over 54 points per game.

“We got to do something to slow them down,” Paffumi said. “We got to take away their threat.”

That “threat” is Highland’s run game anchored by senior Kohner Cullimore and junior Daniel Wood. In their first three games, the duo combined for 472 rushing yards.

Highland is coming off a 70-20 victory over Boulder Creek, where the Hawks offense put up 712 all-purpose yards including 351 rushing yards.

Skyline will need strong performances from key defensive players such as senior defensive end Daniel To’oto’o and junior linebacker Zach Kreins to slow down Highland’s run game.

Penalties Plague Coyotes

In its first three games penalties were a major problem for Skyline. In last week’s game at Desert Ridge, a number of big-gain plays were called back due to penalties.

According to Paffumi, penalties have been a problem for the Coyotes for a long time.

“We are fighting an uphill battle. Not only do we fight our own mistakes, we’re also fighting the preconceived notion of what Skyline is,” Paffumi said.

Skyline’s senior running back Aaron Wood has had a number of his long runs brought back due to penalty calls.

“We definitely have to play with more discipline. We have way too many penalties,” Wood said. “We just need to clean those up this week.”

The last meeting between these teams was Week 2 of the 2017 season. Highland shutout the Coyotes 21-0 holding them to only 104 offensive yards.

Wood is familiar with Highland having carried the ball 23 times for 107 yards in two career games against the Hawks.

Coyotes Coming Home

The Coyotes played the first three games of the season on the road. Dating back to last year, the team has played seven consecutive road games.

This season alone the Coyotes have faced challenges associated with travel including a lightning delay and a less than ideal transportation situation.

This week’s home game is a long time coming and will be welcomed by Skyline’s players and fans alike.

Coach Paffumi said travelling different distances each week can throw off the players gameday rituals and processes.

“I think the normalcy of home is going to help us,” Paffumi said.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Mesa.