Noah Furtado is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Carl Hayden for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — Splitting its opening pair of non-regional games, Carl Hayden High rested success and failure on its rushing attack, an identity that was stamped by head coach Steven Arenas when he was promoted to his role three years ago.

But under the Friday lights, Moon Valley High presented a near-mirror image. It had three talented backs and an equally relentless commitment to the ground game.

Such similar styles made it obvious where spectators needed to focus: the line of scrimmage.

The Falcons grinded their way to a 14-10 halftime lead with the trenches firmly in hand, but second-half alignment adjustments by the Rockets’ defensive line marked a sharp turn in control up front as Arenas watched his run-heavy offense stall while the opposition did just enough to pull out a tightly contested 24-14 win at Putman Field.

The result handed Carl Hayden (1-2) its second loss and Moon Valley its second win (2-1). “I definitely thought it was a dog fight against a quality opponent,” Arenas said.

Trying to protect a late 17-14 advantage, Rockets head coach Santiago Maldonado looked for an offsides call when he sent his offense out on a fourth-and-short, but the Falcons’ defensive front showed much-improved discipline after suffering earlier encroachment violations in reaction to the clapping cadence of junior quarterback Damion Miller-Coleman.

Maldonado’s subsequent decision to send junior punter Edward Boone onto the field was a rewarding one, as Boone pinned Carl Hayden at its own 3-yard line, where it was unable to overcome apparent passing deficiencies in a sequence that concluded with a strip-sack by senior defensive back Jose Chavez, which led to a fumble-recovery touchdown for Moon Valley.

“We had to get it down there and tell the kids to down it and put our defense on the field,” Maldonado said. “Our defense has been solid all year long, so we trusted them and we knew they'd get it done for us.”

The score read 24-14, and the game was out of reach for Carl Hayden with around 60 seconds remaining.

“We’re a run-heavy offense and when we get behind the sticks, sometimes our hands are tied,” Arenas said.

It was certainly a weakness that arose often once his team fell behind, as the Rockets worked to make the Falcons’ offense one-dimensional. Judging from their 43 rushing yards through the final two quarters — a follow-up to 103 first-half rushing yards — the strategy directed by Maldonado on the opposing sideline proved effective.

“We knew that they were a hard running team -- when you play Wing-T teams like that it's going to be tough to stop the run,” Maldonado said. “You got to just kind of manage it. We weren't lining up correctly in the first half and they were just beating us at the point of attack. We made some adjustments at halftime, fixed our game plan that we had coming in, we started lining up right, and the kids just decided they wanted to get it. So they started playing the way they're supposed to.”

Coupled with its 228-yard rushing effort anchored by senior running back Deyon Bradley (167) and supplemented by sophomore fullback Ayomide Ogundipe and senior running back Francisco Luna on the other side of the ball, Moon Valley played at its own tempo out of the break.

And Carl Hayden couldn’t answer.

“We got too big-headed,” senior wideout Adrien Armstrong said. “We thought we had it already. We had folks walking in the locker room, saying hi to the cheerleaders like we already won. Like, 'No, bruh, that's not it, we got to keep going through.' And then, not even that, we came back out here still big-headed getting cocky with them. ... We got to say stronger mentally to finish a game like this.”

Armstrong was the most active Falcons receiver, with a 48-yard screen pass completion marking his greatest contribution of the evening for an offense that was otherwise carried by senior running back Jaime Zayas. The listed 5-foot-7, 160-pounder ran for 94 yards on 24 carries behind a relatively young offensive line that showed promise through the first 24 minutes Friday.

“We've talked about that, our young line, and we had our way with them upfront in that first half,” Arenas said. "They made some good adjustments in the second half, but they're a good football team. They got a good coach over there. So I feel, despite the score, I feel good about some of the things that we saw tonight. I think we're going to be fine the rest of the way.”