Aaron Schmidt is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Higley High School for AZPreps365.com

GILBERT—The Higley Knights fell to the undefeated Hamilton Huskies 58-17 Friday night, dropping Higley to 2-7 on the season.

Coming off a 57-20 blowout victory against the Perry Pumas last Friday night, Higley was unable to tarnish Hamilton’s perfect season due to a leviathan Husky defensive line and numerous mistakes both offensively and defensively. “Our expectations were that we were going to go out and execute and play with them,” Higley coach Eddy Zubey said. “I got to do a better job in getting these guys prepared and it definitely showed tonight.”

The Knight offense scuffled, as the offensive line allowed seven sacks and the rushing game only accounted for 34 yards. Quarterback Jamar Malone struggled mightily against the tough Husky defense, overthrowing numerous receivers, and only completing nine of his 26 passes for 138 yards and three interceptions.

Aidan Garcia, on the other hand, was basically the entire Higley offense as he caught five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. “You don’t want to be the only person to succeed offensively on your team,” Garcia said. “You want everyone to get the ball, and everybody to have fun when they’re out there. It’s fun to be that guy, but also disheartening when you think about it.”

Things got ugly fast, as Hamilton drove down the field on the opening drive to kick a 42-yard field goal with 9:52 left in the first quarter. After Higley went three-and-out on its opening drive, the Huskies blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown, putting the Huskies up 10-0.

The Husky defensive line continued to decimate the Higley offense, forcing the Knights to punt with 3:35 left in the quarter. The Huskies failed to block Higley's second punt, instead fielding it and returning it 40 yards for a touchdown and 17-0 lead at the end of the quarter.

It didn’t take long for Higley to allow another score, as the Knights surrendered a 24-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rachana Men with 10:16 left in the second quarter. That gave the Huskies a 24-0 lead.

After forcing the Huskies to punt, Higley got on the board as Jamar Malone connected to Aidan Garcia for the 51-yard touchdown. The Knights went for two and were successful, making the score 24-8 with 7:47 left in the half.

The Huskies responded quickly, driving down the field once again to score a 27-yard rushing touchdown, increasing the lead to 23 with 6:07 to go in the half.

Higley looked to score again after completing a 40-yard pass to Aidan Garcia and following that up with a 15-yard run by Jamar Malone. That put the Knight offense on the Huskies’ 23-yard line.

It was all for naught, however, as the Huskies intercepted the ball on the 25-yard line after the ball was tipped in the air. This eventually led to another Husky touchdown, a 20-yard pass to Rachana Men, making the score 38-8 with 1:23 remaining in the half.

On Higley's ensuing possession, the Knights immediately turned it over on their own 9-yard-line as Jamar Malone fumbled as he was being sacked. Hamilton then scored a nine-yard touchdown pass to Christian Anaya, giving the Huskies a 45-8 lead at the end of the half.

Despite leading by 37, Hamilton decided to onside-kick to begin the second half. Higley recovered. A few plays, a personal foul call, and a pass interference penalty put Higley on Hamilton’s three-yard line, giving Higley a great opportunity to score.

However, the resilient Husky defense had other plans, sacking Malone twice and forcing Higley to kick a 24-yard field goal to make the score 45-11 with 9:23 left in the third quarter.

“They’re fast, strong and they know what they’re doing,” Garcia said about Hamilton. “They did everything they really needed to do stop our offense.”

The Huskies piled on two five-yard touchdown runs near the end of the third quarter, as they continued to rack-up points without showing remorse. The score was 58-11 going into the fourth quarter.

With 6:12 left in the game, the Knights forced a turnover on Hamilton’s 48-yard line, as the Huskies decided to go for it on fourth down despite being up 47 points. Higley then marched down the field to end the game on a seven-yard touchdown run by Jamar Malone to make the score 58-17, as they failed to complete the two-point conversion.

“They didn’t quit,” Zubey said regarding his team. “They came out in the second half and showed some fire, I’m definitely proud of how they fought."

Coach Zubey and the Knights aim to go out with a bang next Friday night as they play their final regular season game against the Red Mountain Mountain Lions. “We expect to win,” Zubey said. “We’re going to have a tough Red Mountain team come in here, and we’re going to be ready to play.”