Chris Marcano is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Raymond S. Kellis for AZPreps365.com

Raymond S. Kellis and its football program was set to host Trevor Browne in Glendale Friday night in what was anticipated to be an entertaining rematch to a nail-biter last season.

But thanks to resilient defensive plays all night long and a ground-and-pound game plan that worked to a tee, Kellis ran away with a 42-3 dominant victory. 

Last season’s matchup between these two teams saw a late-game heroic effort by Trevor Browne, scoring 24 unanswered points with 6 minutes left in the game to send it into overtime. Although they ultimately came up short, head coach Ben Kullos was pleased to see a change in late-game effort to make sure nothing similar to last year happened. 

 “I think we had the memory of last year seared in our brain. I was really proud of the boys’ effort and commitment to that, because we talked about it all week, hey these guys are gonna fight for four quarters. So we gotta close this thing out for all 48 minutes,” Kullos said.

This mentality and effort throughout the game helped Kellis set the tone from the jump and ride the hot hand. 

The game started with both teams turning it over early in their opening possessions, as Kellis quarterback Ronald Coty III mishandled a snap on their third play from scrimmage. But the defense had their quarterback’s back, getting him the ball back after an early Trevor Browne fourth-down attempt that turned into an interception.

Coty didn’t let the first turnover affect him, launching a 52-yard touchdown to Nathan Macias, jump-starting Kellis’ offense for the rest of the game. 

The offense stayed hot, as Kellis’ following offensive drive saw Coty take a read-option 37 yards to the house, increasing their lead 13-0 by the end of the first.

Trevor Browne showed some life toward the end of the first half, though, as they followed up a 38-yard field goal with an onside kick recovery, knocking on the door looking to cause more trouble.

 But captain and safety Avery Rodriguez had different plans, taking a tip-drill interception all the way back for a pick-6 touchdown, making the score 20-3, which is what it would stand at halftime. This was one of Kellis’ three forced turnovers, and this defense doesn’t shy away from making plays, and Rodriguez has his defense ready to create them.  

“We play hard, we play very hard. We want to come out, set the tone, get a bunch of turnovers, and just play ball. We’re not soft, we’re trying to come out here and lead the state,” Rodriguez said. 

The second half consisted of more of the same dominance from Kellis, as after a turnover on downs on Trevor Browne’s opening possession of the half, Coty and running back Tristan Bacon marched down the field with explosive run after explosive run, ending in another Coty touchdown off a read-option, making the score 28-3 after a long third quarter. 

Kellis’ offense would end the night with five total touchdowns, as Bacon added one on the ground and Coty found Bedolla for a beautiful toe-drag touchdown late in the fourth to put an exclamation point on the game. Coty believes a great balance in the run and pass game could help lead this team to special places.

 “I feel like last year our limitation was running the ball, but this year we got consistent with throwing. Me working with my quarterback coach, getting the receivers the ball. We have receivers that are willing to go out for the ball, and my job is to get them the ball in open space. When we can run the ball and pass, I feel like no one can stop us,” Coty said.  

But most interesting is the way this Kellis team connects as one. The team plays for one another, players constantly praise each other, holding themselves up and together, and they believe it's the recipe for team success.

 “It means everything [team chemistry]. That’s how we win games, that’s how we practice right, that’s how we do everything right. That’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to make a deep playoff run because of this team chemistry,” Rodriguez said. Coty followed that up by saying, “We’re like one person out there, we’re one as a group. We need to critique each other to get better and better.” 

After tremendous effort on defense, resilient running, and the power of friendship, Kellis will look to ride a two-game win streak to North Canyon after a bye week. It will be fun to see this team come together again and try to reign superior once more.