Goodyear -- After battling back and tying the game twice, the Millennium Tigers fell to the Skyline Coyotes, 52-35 Friday night.

The Tigers came back from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter and 7-point deficit in the third.

Something changed with the Tigers in the third quarter, and the Coyotes started to find a rhythm on offense, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal to take a 39-21 lead heading into the fourth.

“We let ourselves get in the way and it cost us in the third quarter,” Millennium head coach Lamar Early said. “We were very, very selfish tonight.”

Junior quarterback Zareq Brown led the team with four touchdown passes and 2-point conversion.

“We had a lot of momentum driving down the field,” Brown said. “I was very confident in us but [they] started pulling away. I guess it is what it is.”

Brown agreed with coach Early’s comment on the way the team played together.

“We need to work on team camaraderie,” Brown said. “Meaning collectively staying in tune and keeping our heads in the game.”

In the fourth quarter, Millennium made a change at quarterback. They put in sophomore quarterback, Jalan Early.

“I knew getting playing time was going to be a tough thing this year coming in as a sophomore and having two older quarterbacks in front me,” Jalan Early said. “I knew I was going to have to work hard and compete to earn every second.”

Not only did the sophomore quarterback get playing time, he also completed the last touchdown pass of the night, cutting the deficit to 45-35.

The Tigers are in a transition this year with Early taking over this season. After going through three coaches in four years, they are working towards competing at a higher level and growing together as a team.

“All year, the message has been to put the team before yourself,” Early said. “They need to hear that message to overcome things.”