The St. Mary’s Knights are looking to wrap up their homecoming week festivities with a win against the Deer Valley Skyhawks on Friday at Phoenix College.

For many high school students, homecoming is a time to have fun and forget responsibilities. But those suiting up on Friday realize that they have to handle business before they can have fun on Saturday night.

“One of the big events of homecoming week is the football game. It’s our responsibility to represent our school and play well, ” St. Mary’s head coach Jose Lucero said.

“We want to set a standard of how we play and it is our responsibility every week to bring it. Whoever we play against and whatever their record is, that will always be our expectation.”

The Knights currently have a 3-2 record and sit second in the 4A Skyline division. They are coming off a 27-12 victory over the Poston Butte Broncos. 

In that game, St. Mary’s was took control on offense and defense.

They went for over 294 yards on the ground with senior quarterback David Galindo accounting for 171 of those yards and three rushing touchdowns.

The Knights dominated on the other side of the ball as they forced two interceptions and one fumble. St. Mary’s held the Broncos to only 12 points and 55 passing yards the entire game.

“As long as we go with the gameplan that coach has for us and play tough, we will be alright,” St. Mary's senior PJ Lewis said.

The Skyhawks are currently least the 4A Skyline region with an 0-6 overall record. They are coming off of a tough loss against Mingus Union where they were shut out for four quarters.

Although Deer Valley's record may easy win for the Knights, St. Mary’s knows better than to underestimate a divisional opponent.

The Knights have done a great job so far this year as they have averaged over 94 more rushing yards than their opponents. Defensively, the Skyhawks have given up just over 257 yards on the ground per game. 

“I plan to do my job, run hard, and secure the ball,” senior quarterback David Galindo said.

The biggest advantage that the Knights look to have in this game is their 12th man -- their fans. There is growing excitement amongst the players that the crowd will have a larger turnout than usual for homecoming week.

“For anybody coming out, we want to say welcome home! Hopefully, our boys can go out, put on a show, and make our community proud,” Lucero said.

With the crowd behind them, the Knights are looking to capture a victory and start their homecoming celebration early.