Ty Boren is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Red Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com.

Moon Valley’s football team turned it up in the second half, scoring 34-unanswered points, to complete an electric comeback victory, to secure its first win of the season Friday.

The Rockets hosted the Lee Williams Volunteers in a 4A non-region game, and the Rockets came back to win despite trailing by 18 points after the first half.

Rockets running back Ayomide Ogundipe, also known as “AY”, had a breakout game with over 100 rushing yards, and a 50-yard rushing touchdown in the final minutes to show for it.

The senior running back finished the game with a total of three rushing touchdowns in the 34-18 win for Moon Valley (1-2).

Moon Valley coach, Santiago Maldonado, was pleased with Ogundipe’s performance after the game.

“AY did a phenomenal job putting us on his back tonight,” said Maldonado.

Moon Valley’s defense played a big part in Friday’s win as it held Lee Williams (1-3) scoreless throughout the whole second half of the game. Maldonado said that his defense has been practicing and putting in the work for those type of moments.

“Our defense is always strong, and they do a great job, even in the losses we had previously,” said Maldonado. “They responded and they wanted it more than the other side.”

The Rockets defense held Lee Williams offense to zero third-down conversions and forced two fumbles in the second half, ultimately giving Moon Valley all the momentum that it needed.

Rockets freshman quarterback, Jahvandre Zuhri, played his best game of the year so far with 66 rushing yards, alongside 50 passing yards. Zuhri connected with wide receiver Dameon Johnson for a 20-yard passing touchdown early in the fourth quarter to take a 27-18 lead.

“Our freshman quarterback made some big throws down the road, so we’re super excited,” said coach Maldonado.

Friday’s game was flooded with fumbles, as each team was responsible for fumbling the ball multiple times throughout the game.

Moon Valley fumbled the ball on its opening drive which led to a turnover, and a Lee Williams touchdown shortly after.

In the second half, Moon Valley recovered a fumble on Lee Williams' 10-yard line, ultimately leading to a Rockets touchdown shortly after.

Another game changer for Moon Valley in the second half of Friday’s game was staying disciplined on both sides of the ball.

Throughout the first half the Rockets had 25 yards in penalties, compared to the Volunteers 20 yards in penalties. The Rockets went on to get zero penalties in the second half of the game, while the Volunteers finished the second half with 25 more yards in penalties.

Last season Lee Williams hosted and defeated Moon Valley 49-19. This is the second meeting between these two teams in over 10 years, with Friday win Moon Valley has evened the series at one win each.

Moon Valley’s next game is on September 26th, where it will be hosting the Alhambra Lions (0-3).