Williams Field's mastery of Higley continued Friday, but only by the narrowest of margins.

Out-possessed by a wide margin and with three turnovers thrown in for good measure, the Black Hawks rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to trim host Higley, 28-27, in a nail-biting 6A non-region game. 

For Higley, it was a gut-wrenching finish to what might have, would have, should have, could have been the Knights' first-ever win in the Higley District rivalry. Instead it was loss No. 11 in as many tries in the series that began in 2009.

The game-winning score came with 1:09 to play with Black Hawks' junior running back Kaden Cloud busting up the middle for a 6-yard run. The TD tied the score at 27 momentarily as Williams Field kicker Kaden Loshonkohl jogged onto the field and calmly added the final extra point of a 4-for-4 point-after evening.

Higley did have a chance at a game-winning field goal after Cloud's third TD. Higley senior quarterback Kai Millner completed three passes helping march Higley to the Williams Field 23 with 11 seconds left. The big play was a 46-yard completion to Carter Hancock.  Higley place kicker Konnor Olson, who made field goals from 24-, 34- and 32-yards earlier in the game, had his final 40-yard try fall short by about three yards with five seconds left.

Williams Field coach Steve Campbell was thankful for the fast start and fourth-quarter rush his team produced. The last drive covering 60 yards,11 plays and 3 1/2 minutes of clock was led by veteran back Cloud.

"It's a great thing, competition," Campbell said. "Kaden rose to the occasion for us on that last drive. He's been the dude for us for two years It's great knowing we have him for back for another."

The competition with Cloud was on the field for the first time this season in the form of junior Aziya Jamison. Jamison a 1,700-yard back for American Leadership Academy Queen Creek last year. Jamison suited up after sitting the first four games due to transfer rules. Jamison had some chunk runs in the the first half and also played some defense. Jamison was stopped on a third-and-short earlier in the final quarter. On the next possession - that game-winning possession - Campbell went to Cloud. Cloud rushed for 50 yards during the possession with tough runs to move the chains and the burst up the gut for the game-winner.

Despite how close Higley came to claiming its first victory in the rivalry, Knights' coach Eddy Zubey wasn't pleased with his team's play in the final period and the lack of touchdowns given the number of opportunities.

"We had a penalty that cost us 20 yards of field position that would have pinned them inside the 10," Zubey said. "And we settled for field goals too many times in the red zone....... A couple plays cost us a win." 

Higley controlled the ball and clock for nearly 30 of the 48 minutes. The time of possession gap and capitalizing on two Williams Field turnovers late in the first half contributed to the Knights rallying from a 14-3 deficit early in the second period to a 24-14 lead by halftime. The steady play of Millner (23 of 28 passing for 263 yards for the  night) and workhorse rushing attack led by junior Colton Allen (22 carries for 109 yards for the game) in the opening half were keys to a 21-0 run up to intermission by the Knights. And don''t discount the turnovers (two interceptions by freshman defensive back Nijrell Eason II) that led to 10 of the 21 points. Eason II added a third interception in the third period.

Capping Higley's first-half scoring splurge was essentially a Hail Mary on the final play of the half at Williams Field's 27. Millner lofted a pass to the end zone with several defenders surrounding three Higley receivers. The pass was batted away by Williams Field, but into the hands of the Knights' Truitt Robinson who clutched it for the TD.