Ronan Heykoop is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPrep365.

A combination of senior wideout Avery Knight and senior quarterback Beckham Pellant led Hamilton  past Desert Vista, 70-7 in a 6A non-region game Friday.

It was a impressive performance from the Huskies' main characters, with Knight reeling in two touchdowns and his teammate Pellant putting up an impressive 350 yards and five TDs on 18-of-21 passing in just two quarters of work.

In addition to Knight's and Pellant's stellar performances, a pack of Huskies (3-1) contributed to the offensive production as eight players put six points on the board against the Thunder (1-3).

"The offense compliments the defense, which compliments special teams, which leads to good football," said Hamilton coach Michael Zdebski. "So, in order to be successful, you need all three to be complimentary."  

Entering the stadium, the energy held all the hallmarks of an elite program. Hamilton has reached the open in all four years since the tournament's inception. The line entering the stadium wrapped its way around the parking lot, and the band's rendition of Darth Vader's "Imperial March" provided an ominous atmosphere upon kickoff. 

"The stands being full is extremely beneficial to the team's success. I mean, they feed off that energy right there," said Zdebski. "When they pack the stands, the kids get really fired up."

As the sun completely set in the west, the Huskies drew first blood late in the first quarter after a slow start.

Senior running back Breylon Blount got the scoring started for Hamilton, catching a 1-yard touchdown pass. This was followed up by a near-immediate 40-yard pick-six by senior defensive back Ross Alexander, erasing any qualms from the Husky faithful. 

"Well, you know we were moving the ball pretty well on the first drive and had an unfortunate fumble, but we were able to come out, get the ball and go down and score," said Pellant. "Then, defense comes out to a pick six, and 14 zero. We were rolling from there."

The second quarter opened like the first concluded, with Hamilton scoring. After snuffing out a lengthy Desert Vista drive, the Huskies found salvation again in the east end zone in a drive that saw an 85-yard trot from Knight called back. 

As the first half concluded, nothing could go right for the Thunder. A combination of self-inflicted Desert Vista penalties and an onside kick recovery by Hamilton allowed the score to climb to 42-0 before halftime.

The Huskies came out of the locker room with the same tenacity as they entered, but now with junior Rich Lucero under center.

Hamilton continued to impress its home crowd into the second half although Desert Vista broke the shutout on its first drive of the second half on a deep shot to senior Roan Martinez, cutting into the Huskies' six-score lead.

However, it was too little too late for the Thunder. Hamilton applied cruise control, and the Huskies won its third straight after a tough loss to Liberty to open the year.

"Everything changed after that first game because we had to. We changed the way we practice times. What we did in practice, Monday through Saturday, we changed the whole thing," said Zdebski.

"You have to learn from something like that. And that's something that, you know, throughout the season, we won't forget, you can't forget because no one's going to forget that will be hanging on our back the whole year."