Kavish Siddhartha is an Arizona State University journalism student at the Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Scottsdale Christian.

The Scottsdale Christian Eagles' electrifying offense, led by running back Jacob Trapp’s three touchdowns, defeated the Veritas Prep Falcons on the road 51-12 Friday night, bringing their record to 4-2 on the season amidst a tight playoff picture.

What was anticipated to be a highly contested matchup between two teams with winning records turned into a one-sided game, as Scottsdale Christian pulled away early.

The first play of the game was a kickoff return in which Scottsdale Christian receiver Andrew Trapp, Jacob's brother, ran back past the 50-yard line. Then, moments later, he caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jack Atkinson. After a successful 2-point conversion and later forcing a punt, Jacob Trapp ran in his first touchdown of the night, giving the Eagles a 16-0 lead in the first quarter.

Atkinson said the relationship between himself and both Trapp siblings has helped the offense put up huge numbers.

“Since eighth grade, we have had such a great chemistry on and off the field,” Atkinson said. “I know what routes (Andrew) is gonna do even if he changes it ... it’s really fun just to have friends on the field.”

Scottsdale Christian was led by their successful running game, which Veritas seemingly had no answer for. One of Jacob Trapp's three rushing touchdowns came on a 60-yard sprint.

“Honestly, it was great,” Trapp said. “They were talking but we just talked with our pads. We hit them harder ... and we were just more physical than them. We played at a lot faster pace in the second half than the first half.”

What may be more impressive was the quality of defense played by the Eagles. They forced three turnovers on the night, one of which was a fumble recovery for a touchdown in a vital situation in the second quarter to give them a 22-6 lead.

Veritas Prep had a successful running attack heading into this game but ultimately could not find much success on the ground against the Eagles.

Scottsdale Christian head coach Mike Sheahan said the focus was stopping the opponent’s rushing attack heading into Friday's game.

“It definitely was -- it was stopping the run,” Sheahan said. “We gave up 12, 14, something like that. We stopped the run very well and then in the second half they made some adjustments and got some big runs, but we just kind of buckled down and kept playing football, so I am really proud of them for that.”

With six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Atkinson made a brilliant play working out of the pocket on the run to find wide receiver Harrison Gurash for a 30-yard touchdown to ice the Game 51-12.

“I was in the pocket and two guys kind of ran in the same position, so I wanted to get out and make something happen with my legs,” Atkinson said. “I was gonna throw it away and then I saw Harrison Gurash come wide open so I just wanted to give him a chance. I work on that every day in practice with our receivers coach, so doing that just gives me confidence to do it in-game.” 

Friday's road win was a big one for Scottsdale Christian as their schedule only gets tougher. They play Scottsdale Preparatory Academy next week. 

“I think we kept our composure, played physical football, we kept our mouths shut, and I think we did exactly what we came in to do, ” Sheahan said. “We executed on defense, special teams, and offense and I am very proud of the boys tonight.”