Joseph Eigo is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Westwood High School for AZPreps365.com 

 

MESA- The Westwood Warriors let out a howl of euphoria in celebration following their 22-0 victory over the Dobson Mustangs on a brisk evening in Mesa Friday. The 22-0 victory now puts the Warriors at 4-3 on the season. Three straight wins for Westwood have them poised to win the 6A East Valley region. 

“This is for the region, here we go,” said defensive coordinator Sean Freeman. “These next few games are very important. Hard work will be important. Staying on top of their grades is important. These next few games can determine if we win the region or not. We’re ready to take it and ready to take it home, but we’ve gotta make sure we tighten up.”  

Freeman’s defense sure showed out Friday night, tallying their first shutout of the season. The Warriors racked up four turnovers on the evening, on top of setting the tone with brutal physicality, leaving the Mustangs battered and bruised. 

All four turnovers came in the second half, the first of which, a fumble recovery, happened on the first play of the third quarter. The defense later tightened up on a goal-line stand, forcing a turnover on downs with a sack on 4th-and-goal on the three. 

A pair of fourth-quarter interceptions sealed the deal for the Westwood shutout. Cornerback KeJaun Smith pulled in a very slick diving interception off a deflection, and safety Ryan Diggs halted the Dobson offense dead in its tracks with a pick deep in Westwood territory to seal the shutout late in the fourth quarter. 

“We played great,” said Smith, who was glowing with excitement while holding the Warriors' turnover belt. “Dobson’s been talking a lot of smack, so we had to bring it tonight.”

Smith and his secondary buddies were flying all over the field Friday, laying some massive hits on the Dobson receiving corps. Smith, along with defensive back Jolani Turner and linebacker Winston Taimikovi, made sure the Mustangs will feel their wrath for days to come. 

Taimikovi nearly gave the Warriors great field position when he hopped a route and nearly intercepted Dobson quarterback Jordan Legg late in the second quarter. 

The Warrior offense had a very slow start to the game. After notching 53 points and 46 points the previous two weeks, Friday night was more of a dog fight for Westwood. 

“That game we were a little bit sloppy,” said Westwood head coach Kyle Ide. “They were a tough and great opponent. We kinda would move the ball, then we would make a few mistakes here and there and not quite finish drives.” 

While mistakes were made and opportunities wasted, the Warrior offense finally figured it out late in the second quarter. 

A big stop by the Mustang defense set up the offense at midfield with 1:24 remaining in the first half. A big gain on third-and-five on a pass to wide receiver Austin Layton set up Westwood at the 10-yard line with :10 remaining in the half. 

A defensive holding penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal line, setting up a five-yard touchdown throw to Layton. Westwood went for a two-point conversion, which was converted on a wild throw across the body to the other side of the field to Layton once again. 

A touchdown throw to Korwyn Brantley-Ellis gave Westwood a 14-0 lead with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter. The only other time Westwood found the end zone came in the fourth quarter with a Ryan Willis four-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 with 8:57 to play. 

The Warriors now have a bye week, but will set their sights on winning the 6A East Valley region. They have three games remaining, all against teams in their region. After the bye week, Westwood will take on the Skyline Coyotes at Skyline High School October 29th.