Anthony Ravasio is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Scottsdale Preparatory Academy Football for AZPreps365.com.

The Scottsdale Prep football team has started its season 4-0 and looks to continue that streak on Oct. 1 versus Madison Highland Prep.

The Spartans and the Heat have already met once this season on Sept. 4, a 67-20 victory by Scottsdale Prep. This time, they will meet in the Spartans’ newly built on-campus stadium. 

The Spartans have been lights-out so far this season, producing a plus-136 point differential and almost 1,100 total yards of offense. But head coach David Primavera said his defense has been the main reason for this early dominance.

“Defensively, I think we do a really good job running to the ball and playing really hard and fast as well as creating turnovers. As for the offense, we’ve eliminated mistakes for the most part and played clean football. This has allowed us to jump out to big leads,” Primavera said. 

The team has done its job on both sides of the ball and have been led by two players in particular: junior quarterback Tyler Johnson and senior wide receiver Carson Boyll.

Johnson has been at the center of the offense, leading them in this dominant stretch. Johnson has completed 65% of his passes, averaging 110 yards a game and almost 15 yards per throw. He also has a quarterback rating of 117.9. He credited his teammates for his early success.

“I’ve got great guys around me like (Boyll) and (Strader). I’ve got to put the ball in their hands and they make the plays,” Johnson said. “I throw a 5-yard pass to Boyll and he turns it into an 80-yard touchdown.” 

Boyll agreed, saying his success has come more from the players around him. 

“It’s the whole team, really. I can’t run for touchdowns if I don’t have blockers in front of me, I can’t catch passes if (Johnson) isn’t throwing good balls to me,” Boyll said. 

Boyll has been a do-it-all piece for the Spartans. Through their first four games, Boyll leads the team in receptions (14), receiving yards (238), total touchdowns (7), and is second in rushing yards (182). 

Boyll also said the team’s chemistry has grown tremendously so far this season.

“We’re pretty close,” he said. “At school we’re always talking, we do dinners as a team the day before the game. We’re sitting next to each other, always laughing it up, I think that off-the-field stuff has really made an impact for what we’ve been doing on the field.” 

“We always gotta keep it loose, you know?” Johnson added. 

Madison Highland will be the first of three straight section opponents that the Spartans will face the next three weeks. The team will travel to North Pointe Prep on Oct. 8 in Phoenix before returning home on Oct. 15 to face Valley Lutheran.