Mason Banks is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Highland for AZPreps365.com.

GILBERT, Ariz. — In a clash between two of the top teams in the 6A conference, the Highland Hawks came up just short against the Hamilton Huskies, 10-8, in a defensive showdown. 

The scoring did not get kicked off until the second quarter when Highland kicker Crew Crockett split the uprights in the middle to take the 3-0 lead. 

Late in the second quarter, Hamilton quarterback Roch Cholowsky threw a deep ball that was intercepted by Highland cornerback Cole Crandall. 

Highland was unable to capitalize on the momentum Crandall and the defense gave them, and they took a 3-0 lead into halftime. 

“Our offense was pushing but they were not where we wanted to be and that pick gave us more momentum on offense to do what we needed to do,” Crandall said. 

Hamilton started the second half with a three-and-out drive and Cholowsky limping off the field. After a Hamilton stop, backup quarterback Beckham Pellant drove the Hamilton offense down the field and finished the drive with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Milan Smith to give the Huskies a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter. 

After both defenses held tough, Highland got back on the scoreboard with another Crockett field goal, pulling them to within one late in the third quarter. 

Defense continued to be the story of the game for both teams as the 7-6 score carried late into the fourth quarter.

With 6 minutes left in the game, Highland defensive end Cooper Scott forced a saftey, which gave the Hawks a 8-7 lead. 

“It brought us momentum,” Scott said. They were then given the ball back with six minutes left on the clock. 

With less than 5 minutes left in the game, Hamilton forced a huge fumble in Highland territory. 

A targeting penalty called on Highland set Hamilton up for a go-ahead field goal by Matthew Swink giving Hamilton a late lead, 10-8.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit and made some mistakes. We can not do that but on to next week,” Scott saidin reaction to the targeting penalty. 

Hamilton’s defense stepped up big once again on the final drive of the game stopping a Highland air attack and running out the clock for the win.

“Kudos to Jermey, their offensive coordinator in the third quarter he made some adjustments with the quick game and made us recalibrate a little bit. With that being said hats off to my boys, those kids went out there and gave us a defensive score,” Highland defensive coordinator Jason Lyons said. 

Lyons’s defense held a high-powered Hamilton offense to 10 points but its offense was not able to take advantage of multiple opportunities in Husky territory.

Highland will head into their bye week then play Desert Vista at home at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14.