Goodyear, AZ- After suffering through a tough 24 minutes, Millennium head coach had only one choice at halftime: motivate.

And that he did.

The Tigers responded in the second half of their regional game against the Copper Canyon Aztecs and finished with a 37-14 victory.

“It was a slow start, but after halftime, we played much better,” Millennium head coach Lamar Early said. “They took the field and played more physical. I am very proud of them in that aspect.”

To start the game, the Aztecs came out strong and scored within two minutes. The Tigers quickly followed and tied the game with a 46-yard touchdown.

But by halftime, the Tigers had fumbled three times and lost starter senior wide receiver, Aidan Diggs, to an injury.

"We have to hold onto the ball,” Early said. “It is nothing they did we just have to finish the play all the way to the whistle. We just didn’t do that and it costs us four times.”

In the third quarter, junior running back Davon Fountain fumbled the ball near the end zone and the Aztecs recovered. After the play, he walked straight to the bench and sunk his head into his hands.

One of the Millennium coaches noticed Fountain on the bench and quickly walked over to talk to him.

“He told me it wasn’t my fault and to keep my head up,” Fountain said. “He said our defense would always back me up.”

The Millennium coaching staff reminds the players to constantly keep their head up and depend on one another.

“We believe in that, you have to move them straight to the next play,” Early said. “We can’t shut down and dwell on the old one.”

One of the leaders of tonight’s game was senior running back Isaac Oliver. Oliver showed up in the second half and finished with three of the team's five touchdowns.

“We came out and took care of business,” Oliver said. “We played 48 minutes. I give it to the line, they had great reads tonight.”

After the game, Early shared a few words and congratulated the team on their performances.

“It took us a while but once we found our grove, there it was,” Early said. “Again, it is something to build on. We had to overcome some adversity.”

Millennium defensive coach Loprich shares the same views and goals as Early. They strive to mold the players in a way to better themselves on and off the field.

“It all starts with a competitive approach and working to change the mindset from thinking only about oneself, to an understanding that we need others to help us accomplish our individual and team goals.” Loprich said.

The Millennium Tigers are now 3-4 and already looking forward to next Friday night where they will face Tolleson for another regional matchup.

“We’re moving onto next game,” senior quarterback Zareq Brown said. “We know what we’re capable of and we just have to execute it.”