Connor Manning is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Alhambra High School for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX - It had been 749 days since Alhambra High School claimed a victory, but that all changed Friday night. The Lions defeated Maryvale High, the last team they had defeated, 30-12 on the road to finish the season on a high note. 

In a rare role-reversal for the Lions, all the problems that plagued Alhambra seemed to fall in their favor. Maryvale committed several key penalties and turnovers that were costly and momentum-killing just as Alhambra had dealt with most of the season.

A slow, back-and-forth pace was the theme of the game, where penalties moved the ball upfield better than the two teams did. Alhambra found paydirt late in the first quarter when junior receiver James Gaie, who found himself with a lot of running back responsibilities, punched the ball up the middle into the endzone to open the scoring. Roman Moreno, the Lions' junior running back and receiver, rammed through the Panthers defensive front to tack on two more points in a conversion attempt to put the Lions up 8-0. 

The offensive success would continue all half, spear-headed by Lion running back James Kane. The speedy junior burst down the right sideline, maneuvered past a Maryvale defender and doubled the Lions lead to 16-0 following another two-point conversion attempt.

Kane double-dipped late in the first half. The Panthers gifted Alhambra with 30 free yards after back-to-back personal foul calls. Kane scampered to the right sideline again and scored his second touchdown of the half, an 18-yarder, plus yet another two-point conversion. The Lions took their first halftime lead of the season, 24-0, into intermission. 

The Panthers woke up in the second half, finding the endzone in both of their first two possessions, cutting the Lion lead to 24-12. The Lions were stalemated on offense, often in third- and fourth-and-long scenarios deep in their own territory. The Lions defense would bend, but not break.

The Panthers stopped a fake-punt attempt by Moreno, but on the first play inside the red zone following the stop, Lion defensive back James Gaie picked off Maryvale sophomore quarterback Angel Garcia’s pass with a spectacular catch in the back right corner of the endzone. After another Alhambra possession resulted in a punt, the Panthers marched right down the field and were knocking on the door of bringing the game within one score.

Alhambra’s defense was clutch once again, recovering its fourth fumble of the game in the end zone to stop the Panthers once again. Then Roman Moreno, an Alhambra standout all season, put the game out of reach with a 16-yard rushing touchdown with six minutes remaining. That put the Lions up 30-12 late. 

With 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, the Lions were moving the ball up the field. After one play ended, a major brawl erupted at around midfield. At least 10-15 players on both sides engaged in fisticuffs, throwing each other around. When the tension eased down and both teams returned to their sidelines, officials decided to end the game to prevent further alterations from ensuing. 

Alhambra (1-9) ended its season on a positive note, however, and ended a losing streak that had extended back more than two years.