Oliver Fell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for azpreps365.com

Sierra Linda secured its first region victory in a back-and-forth 14-13 battle which was good to the very last drop Friday night in Phoenix.

Riding high off of a 23-0 win over 5A Betty H. Fairfax last week, the Sierra Linda Bulldogs were ready to host the 1-4 Gila Ridge Hawks for their homecoming football game Friday night.

A slow first half saw a pair of red-zone opportunities dry up for both teams. The Hawks passed on a 39-yard field goal in favor of attempting to convert a fourth-and-17 which was unsuccessful. This was followed by a goal-line stand from the Hawks defense culminating in a tackle of Bulldogs quarterback Camar Lee at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal.

However, this did not ensure that the Hawks were out of any trouble. The Bulldogs’ defense broke the shutout with a 3-man safety of Gila Ridge quarterback Steven Navas to put the Bulldogs up 2-0 with 9 minutes, 39 seconds left to play in the second quarter – a lead Sierra Linda would carry into halftime of what-had-been, to that point, a sound defensive game from both sides, with several close calls turning in either defenses’ favor.

Sierra Linda defenders Lenoxx Hicks, Jonathan Ruiz, and Abraham Aguilar sack Gila Ridge quarterback Steven Navas in the end zone for a safety Friday night in Phoenix. (Oliver Fell photo/AZPreps365)

The star of the first half was Sierra Linda senior defensive end Lenoxx Hicks who not only was the primary tackler in the Bulldogs’ safety but also recorded a forced fumble of a Hawks ballcarrier at the Gila Ridge 8-yard line to set up a very short field for his offense.

When the second half began, it was apparent that the Gila Ridge offense was tired of being stifled by Sierra Linda. Gila Ridge quarterback Navas orchestrated a long touchdown drive in which the junior quarterback threw for 62 passing yards and finished off the drive with a 1-yard QB sneak to give Gila Ridge the 7-2 lead with 1:36 left in the third quarter.

Gila Ridge quarterback Steven Navas pushes through Bulldogs defenders to score a 1-yard rushing touchdown and give the Hawks a 7-2 lead in the third quarter Friday night at Sierra Linda High School. (Oliver Fell photo/AZPreps365)

Sierra Linda quarterback Lee attempted to respond with a drive of his own including a 34-yard rush from Lee on fourth-and-5. The drive eventually led to the Bulldogs entering the Gila Ridge redzone though their plans were thwarted when sophomore defensive back/wide receiver Gabriel Cota intercepted Lee on the goal line.

Gila Ridge defensive back Gabriel Cota intercepted a pass from Sierra Linda quarterback Camar Lee in the fourth quarter Friday night in Phoenix. (Oliver Fell photo/AZPreps365)

Deja vu was looking to set in for the Hawks who had succumbed to a safety the half prior, but a 51-yard connection between Navas and Jacob Arcides flipped the script on the Bulldogs’ defense. Arcides was all over the field in the second half, totaling 100 receiving yards in the second half alone. The drive culminated in a pivotal fourth-and-4 from the Sierra Linda 8-yard line.

Gila Ridge head coach Jessica Slaughter decided to go for it and was rewarded with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cota, whose interception had started the 97-yard drive in the first place. However, senior kicker Max Milian was unable to convert the extra point.

With the Gila Ridge touchdown, the Hawks led 13-2 with just 3:50 remaining in the game.

But the Bulldogs, true to their name, never gave up.

A short kickoff was recovered by Jesse Sanchez close to midfield and, thanks to a few rushes by running back Kevin Tortolero and a Hawks pass interference penalty, the Bulldogs once again found themselves in the Hawks’ red zone, where they had failed to score twice before. Lee rolled out of the pocket and found junior receiver Seth Daily for an 18-yard touchdown with 3 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs did attempt to make it a three-point game though they were denied, as Cota yet again intercepted Lee’s pass.

Now with an 8-13 deficit, Sierra Linda head coach Ty Preyer dialed up the onside kick. Kicker Jose Garcia struck the ball softly and, with a high bounce,, it eventually found its way into the hands of a waiting Matthew Ramirez to reclaim possession for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs were aided by several Hawks' penalties in their approach to the Hawks end zone, leading to a third-and-4 from the Hawks 12-yard line. Lee floated a ball over the Hawks' defenders and into the outstretched mitts of Daily, who came down with the catch on just inbounds for his second touchdown of the day and to give the Bulldogs the 14-13 lead with 1:23 left in the contest. Sierra Linda yet again attempted to convert the two-point conversion to give themselves a three-point lead. But the Hawks were able to stuff Tortolero at the 1-yard line and keep the lead to just one point.

Sierra Linda junior wide receiver Seth Daily stretches to catch his second touchdown pass of the day and to give Sierra Linda a14-13 lead over Gila Ridge with under 2 minutes remaining in the game Friday night in Phoenix. (Oliver Fell photo/AZPreps365)

The rapidly shifting tides of the game would have left most teams rattled but the Hawks were far from done.

A 21-yard Arcides kick return put the ball on their own 37-yard line to begin the drive with 1:14 left and two timeouts at their disposal.

Immediately, coach Slaughter reached into the bag of tricks and executed a remarkable hook-and-ladder play to Arcides to gain 31 yards and move deep into Bulldogs territory. She followed this up with a backward pass to tight end Richard Bean, who completed a 22-yard pass to Cota to reach the Bulldogs' 11-yard line.

A 2-yard loss on a run by Rishon Keele necessitated the use of the Hawks’ final timeout with 28.5 seconds left. Consecutive pass interference calls on Bulldogs cornerback Ramirez then brought the Hawks to Sierra Linda’s 3-yard line with 21.6 seconds left. And after two failed pass attempts, Gila Ridge elected to attempt the 20-yard field goal to take the lead with 12.3 seconds remaining. Milian missed it wide right, leading Sierra Linda to kneel out the game’s final seconds and secure the 14-13 homecoming win.

Gila Ridge quarterback Steven Navas consoles kicker Max Milian after Milian missed a go-ahead 20-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game Friday night at Sierra Linda High School. (Oliver Fell photo/AZPreps365)

The celebration was on for Sierra Linda.

“It’s big. It’s the first game of region play,” Preyer said. “So, our goal is to win our region this year, and so this win was huge. It was the biggest game we played so far. Next week we have a tough opponent. And so we’re gonna come over there and we gotta get back to the drawing board and get ready to do it again.”

Statistically, plenty of players for both teams shined in this game. For example, Gila Ridge quarterback Navas compiled 160 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and a 1-yard rushing touchdown. He was joined by impressive performances from Arcides, who accrued 99 receiving yards throughout the game, Bean, who amounted to 58 receiving yards and 22 passing yards on the game, and possibly most impressively, sophomore Cota who collected 73 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, an interception, and prevented a two-point conversion attempt.

For Sierra Linda, senior Kendre Pride caught four passes for 54 yards and rushed for 17 yards on the ground. Quarterback Lee threw for 107 yards and two touchdowns and scrambled for 59 rushing yards. And despite only making two catches in the game, junior receiver Daily couldn’t have made them at any bigger moments catching both touchdown passes in the Bulldogs’ fourth-quarter comeback.

Sierra Linda improves to 3-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play. The Bulldogs will carry their two-game winning streak into their game in Avondale next Friday against the 0-6 La Joya Community Fighting Lobos. While Gila Ridge falls to 0-1 in region play and 1-5 on the season, it will look to bounce back on the road in Chandler against the 1-5 Seton Catholic Sentinels next Friday night.