Jonah Krell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Northwest Christian High School for AZPreps365.com.

Since Northwest Christian moved up to the 4A Conference last year, it has embraced the challenge of a much stronger schedule. It succeeded in 2020, reaching the quarterfinals in their first season following the promotion.

At 7 p.m on Friday, the Crusaders (1-2, 1-1 4A West Valley) face another team that has made a successful jump to 4A in American Leadership Academy of Queen Creek. The Patriots, who made it to the semifinals in the 4A playoffs last year, have started the season strong with a 2-1 overall record. Despite the one blemish, this game might be Northwest Christian’s toughest task in the conference, according to head coach David Inness.

“Our schedule is a gauntlet,” Inness said. “The team we’re playing this week, they’re the best team in 4A. They’re better than Cactus. I think they’re more balanced. But again we’re going to play hard, and our goal is to keep getting better and I think we’re getting better.”

Despite the Crusaders’ two straight losses, they showed strides last week in a back-and-forth rivalry duel with Valley Christian (4-0), who beat Northwest Christian for the first time in 11 years. While the final score read 42-28, the Crusaders hung in for nearly the entire game. 

Junior quarterback Judah Huisman – whose dual-threat capabilities have catapulted Northwest Christian so far – threw for 302 yards with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. While the Crusader offense kept matching Valley Christian’s scores throughout the game, it was Huisman’s one costly interception with five minutes left that proved crucial to the outcome. The Trojans took advantage with two late scores to pad their lead and finish off Northwest Christian.

“We just got to clean up the little stuff and polish it up and we’ll be good,” Huisman said. “We need to get better [at] making quicker reads, not getting hit as much, learning when to throw it away and when to slide.”

Inness said Huisman has been “beat up” at practice this week and wants to limit the hits the 6-foot-1 junior takes, saying he plays almost with a “linebacker mentality.”

The Crusaders have also been hit with the injury bug, with offensive lineman/linebacker and senior leader Luke Johnson out for the year after injuring his left shoulder against Buckeye. Running back/linebacker Alex Jeffries, another senior presence, is a game-time decision this week after missing the Valley Christian game. 

In total, Inness started 20 underclassmen and one senior on defense last week. He also played five freshman, which he has never done in his 12 years as a head coach at Northwest Christian. Inness noted linebackers Zach Johnson and Marshall Gillette, as well as defensive backs Ashton Kamp and Kyler Thruston, as players who have stepped up among the injuries.

Thruston, Kamp and Gillette also make up a potent wide receiver core, with each Crusader recording over 80 yards receiving and scoring a touchdown against Valley Christian. 

“We know that our running game has not been strong recently,” Kamp said. “So we know we’ve got to be the ones stepping up and we have been, so [I’m] proud of everyone for that.”

Thruston, a sophomore in his first year on the varsity team, has particularly stood out with his production. He sits at 16th in the state with 355 yards and has five touchdowns in three games.

“It’s just been fun,” Thruston said. “Judah throws the ball, I catch it. Just a growing experience. Last year on JV, I was a running back, so coming to receiver has just been a ton of fun, just like flag football when I was like 8 or 9.”

Inness added: “He plays every play of every game. He never comes out, he never asks to come out. Kyler just is a player. Mentally, he’s [in a] pretty good spot for a sophomore. He belongs with us. He’d be playing with us with a loaded team.”

On the other end, ALA has their own notable receiver in junior Ryan Meza, who is ranked two spots ahead of Thruston in the state with 373 yards. Last week in a 66-28 defeat of Buckeye, Meza racked up nine catches for 209 yards and a touchdown. 

The Patriots also feature senior quarterback Logan Hubler, who is 10th in the state in passing yards with 852 yards as well as 13 touchdowns. His stat line last week was equally impressive with a 359-yard, six-touchdown performance. A key for the Crusaders will be to slow the high-powered offense down. 

Despite consecutive losses and a tough opponent, the confidence level is still high for a Crusaders team heading into their first home game of the season.

“We are not complaining, we’re not hanging our heads,” Inness said. “We’re young, but we got nowhere to go but up.”