Grayson Nykaza is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Westwood High School for AZPreps365.

The Skyline Coyotes built a 27-13 halftime lead and then hung on for a 27-20 victory Friday night in front of a packed crowd on hand for Westwood's annual homecoming.

Westwood's final drive came up short, just seven yards short of the end zone.

The game was a matchup of two struggling teams. The Warriors were just 1-4 heading into the game and had given up an average of 37 points per game. Skyline was winless heading into the game and was giving up 51 points per game.

The win was the first for new Skyline head coach George Hawthorne, who previously was the defensive line coach at the football powerhouse, Chandler High School.

Westwood started the game off hot. Junior Jeremiah Reed returned a Skyline fumble 39 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game. Then, on the Warriors' first offensive play of the game, sophomore quarterback Gavin Letourneau hit senior receiver Johnny Collier for a 75-yard touchdown.

After those first two scores, the Westwood offense started to stall. The Warriors only managed nine plays from scrimmage the entire first half. With the Warriors offense struggling, Skyline was able to build a 27-13 halftime lead.

Through the first half, Skyline was carried by junior running back Zeke Branham, who had 57 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. He also added 52 receiving yards and had a 30-yard touchdown called back on a holding call.

Branham was limited in the second half due to cramps, according to Hawthorne, and his team missed him.

“We were running him like a workhorse, and it takes a lot out of the body," Hawthorne said. "He’s definitely a difference-maker and he’s a kid that a lot of colleges will be looking at and should be looking at.”

After the strong first half, Hawthorne was worried the team would lose their concentration.

“We had to stay focused," he said. "We came out and gave up those scores that we shouldn’t have… No team has had mercy on us. We’ve taken some beatings. We shouldn’t have mercy on anybody. That’s not what the game's about. The game's about being your best.”

Hawthorne and the Coyotes kept the pressure up in the second half but they were definitely missing their star rusher.

Injuries did not only hurt Skyline. Westwood’s Johnny Collier also played the second have with a bruised shoulder. Collier ended up dropping the potential game-tying catch at the end  of the game near the Coyotes' goal line.

“I thought I could’ve made that last catch,” Collier said. “I could’ve put a little more effort even though my arm couldn’t do it. Next time I won’t let that happen.”

The Warriors came out after halftime determined to run the ball with senior running back Joshua McClintock carrying five straight times to open the half.

Head coach Kyle Ide was frustrated with the first half and wanted to put an emphasis on running the ball, especially with McClintock.

“He played really well," Ide said. "He runs hard and did a good job. He slipped a couple of times and could’ve broken a couple more. But I thought he ran hard.”

In the first half, McClintock only had three carries for one yard and a fumble. In the second half, he had 13 carries for 120 yards. His consistency helped get Westwood back into position to potentially tie the game.

Westwood will travel to Mountain View (2-4) next Friday. Skyline will host Red Mountain (5-1) on Friday.