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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
Sports & Recreation
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www.ahwatukee.com Pride cruise to win, look ahead to Vegas
BY LANCE HARTZLER
AFN Contributor
Monsoon downpours might have stayed away from the West Valley Friday night, but Mountain Pointe brought plenty of lightning to its game against Valley Vista with a 49-14 route.
The Pride struck quickly, then went a bit dormant until a massive second quarter propelled them over the hosting Monsoon in Surprise.
Pride quarterback Chris Arviso II led his offense to a score on their opening drive, culminating with a punch-in dive from in short by running back Jay‘len Rushing. The Monsoon answered when Mikel Henderson caught a pass on the ensuing drive and just seconds in took it to the end zone to tie things up at 6-6 with just minutes elapsed off the game clock.
For a team with such high expectations, a slow start wasn’t exactly what head coach Eric Lauer had in mind but his team Mountain Pointe junior running back Christian Clark cruises into the end zone for a touchdown against Valley Vista, in a 6A non-conference football game Sept. 2 at Valley Vista High
School in Surprise. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer) found its groove eventually. He called it a bit of first-game jitters going up against a similar program like Valley Vista that is trying to turn the corner into contention. It’s just one game, but the Pride look like team on the curve. “We were a little rusty early,” Lauer said. “We are very rhythm oriented. … As we got through the second quarter, we started picking things up and being who we hope to be. Some little jitters, kinda. We haven’t played a big game yet. … Today was definitely one step forward opening Week One with a win.”
The Pride broke the game open in the second quarter, getting off a 6-6 tie after the first, with a 29-8 advantage in the second alone.
From there it was mostly easy going for the Pride: Arviso finished with four passing TDs, Rushing had one rushing score, Jayden Davis and Jaylen Johnson had one receiving touchdown each, while Christian Clark found the end zone three times — two rushing and one receiving — as part of a massive debut for the Pride.
“He is multi-dimensional; he can run the ball, catch the ball and just adds another layer for us for our offense,” Lauer said of Clark.
On the defensive side of things, Kahoua
seePRIDE page 38
Desert Vista falls in San Diego
BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor
Madison High School in San Diego simply had Desert Vista’s number Saturday afternoon in the Honor Bowl.
They were faster on defense. They were more physical up front and overall dominated in nearly every facet of the game.
The 35-0 loss for Desert Vista was one coaches and players would like to soon forget about. But it also presents an opportunity for the young team with new pieces all over the field to learn from their mistakes.
And there were plenty.
“We shot ourselves in the foot when we got into the red zone,” junior quarterback Braxton Thomas said. “We had third and one, second and four then we had an offsides or unsportsmanlike. It just kills our drive. “We didn’t execute our game plan.”
Desert Vista’s offense on three occasions — twice in the first half and once in the second — found momentum and marched down the field. Whether it was Thomas connecting with wideouts Roan Martinez, Traven Vigenser or Michael Allison on long pass plays, or Thomas doing the work himself by evading pressure and scrambling down field.
But just as fast as the momentum would begin to build, it quickly fell. False start and holding penalties stalled drives inside the Madison red zone. Each time they faced a fourth down inside the 20, they went for it.
No tries were successful. And it fed more energy into a Madison defense that Desert Vista coach Nate Gill said may have shocked some of his players with their speed.
The Thunder were held to 47 yards on the ground. Forty of those came Desert Vista quarterback Braxton Thomas passed for 134 yards Saturday in a frustrating outing against Madison High School of San Diego in the 2022 Honor Bowl. (Josh DaFoe/AFN Contributor)
from Thomas. He also finished 12-of-24 through the air for 134 yards and an interception — one of two turnovers on the day for the Thunder.
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
Allison Gould embracing opportunity with DV Volleyball
BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor
Allison Gould was determined to make a good first impression at Desert Vista when she and her family moved to Arizona from Chicago last year, just before her junior season.
She didn’t waste any time introducing herself to first-year coach Audra Slemmer during the Thunder’s first summer open gym session. Slemmer joked Gould barely let her walk through the gym doors before she was greeted with a wide smile, outreached hand and an infectious personality.
But that’s how Gould is, no matter the circumstance. And that’s why despite her having to take on the role of team manager last year due to a torn meniscus that left her unable to compete, she embraced the opportunity. She knew her time would come. Slemmer, the other coaches and her
teammates did, too. “I was like, ‘Next year will be your year,’” Gould said. “I knew if I just kept coming day in, day out it would pay off. Thinking back, I’m grateful to my past self for pushing through it.” Gould was excited for her move to Arizona. She was excited about the opportunity to make new friends and experience volleyball outside of Illinois and Chicago. But shortly before her move, she suffered the torn meniscus. Thoughts of despair immediately ran through her head. She felt volleyball was the only way she would make friends at Desert Vista. She thought the team wouldn’t accept her because she was injured. She was on a good path heading into her junior season as she saw improvement in her game. Then, she felt the pop. “When I first felt the pop, I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t happening,’” Gould said. “I actually kicked my leg and put it back into place and played for a couple of weeks and basically tore it again. “(Rehab) was long. It was a struggle.” Even when Gould wasn’t able to play, she became a vocal leader. Her teammates fell in love with her positive attitude and relentless push for them to be the best versions of themselves on the court. It’s what she wanted for herself, too. Her personality became infectious among the team. Her teammates began to root hard for her return, and she fed off that energy. So much so that when she was cleared by doctors, Slemmer and the staff had to dial her back during open gym training sessions. “We were like, ‘Okay, you need to relax here,’” Slemmer said. “She tried out for Desert Vista coach Audra Slemmer said Gould made a club, she made a ones team first good impression right away. They didn’t know what at Storm and played for them. to expect initially, but when she was cleared to play, they realized they had a special player on their hands. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff) She came back in open gym, and we were like, ‘Holy cow, we did not expect this.’ Allison Gould moved from Chicago to Arizona with a torn meniscus before her junior season. She took on the role of manager for the Thunder volleyball team where her teammates fell in love with her positive attitude. Now healthy, she’s a captain on the team and someone every-
one looks up to. (Dave Minton/AFN staff)
“She’s that kid that you love telling the story because she’s that servant leadership for the whole season and she just carried her team with energy off the bench. Now she gets to be rewarded on the court.”
Since her return, Gould has ditched the knee brace and is back to 100%. Her positive attitude on the bench last season has transitioned well to the court, where she helped lead Desert Vista to a win in its season opener against Mesa at libero on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Just like she did when she was initially cleared, she flew around the court and dove for balls. After each point, whether it went to Desert Vista or not, the smile returned to her face as she continued to motivate her team through high fives and words of encouragement.
Slemmer said Gould has the same mindset in practice. Which is a major reason why her teammates voted her a captain this season.
Simply put, she’s the ultimate team player.
“She is such an energetic person like, you see her anytime on the court, on the bench, walking around campus, she always has a smile on her face and her energy is contagious,” senior Gabbi LeBlanc said. “She’s relentless. She’s diving into walls and always gets up with a smile. It’s inspiring to play with someone like that.”
Desert Vista’s team this season is young with just six seniors on the roster. Most of the key contributors from last year’s team graduated.
The Thunder were looking for standout players who can take over as a leader for the program. They found that in Gould. And it’s a role that she has come to love, along with the Desert Vista program as a whole.
Slemmer gave her an opportunity. The entire volleyball community has started to embrace her for her passion, infectious positive attitude and her eye-opening skill.
It’s exactly what she had hoped would happen when she moved from Chicago.
“If you guys hadn’t welcomed me and loved me like you did, I probably wouldn’t have come back here,” Gould said to Slemmer. “They welcomed me with open arms, and I am really thankful for that. This is what I wanted.”
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Leha had a pair of clutch defensive stops and Gary Tucker picked off a pass as the Pride kept the Monsoon to just one offensive touchdown. The lone score came after a long return leading to a short field, so the score was as much on the special teams.
As great as the offense was, the Pride defense was as much dominant in keeping the Monsoon from getting any sort of groove.
The Pride have a chance they haven’t gotten since 2013: a game at powerhouse Bishop Gorman (NV). Sure, the Pride aren’t actually playing the power, instead drawing Arbor View at Gorman’s field, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any less big for Mountain Pointe.
Arbor View is still a top-four team in Nevada. Arbor View is 2-0 with wins over Snow Canyon (UT) - 7-0 - in its opener and Shadow Ridge (NV) - 38-6 - last week.
“We are hoping we can play with them a little bit and keep on embracing the chase,” Lauer said. Mountain Pointe senior quarterback Christopher Arviso II scrambles from the pocket pursued by Valley Vista senior linebacker Jonah Flowers. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)
The last time the Pride played at Bishop Gorman in 2013, they won and eventually went on to win the state title that same season - Lauer of course was on that coaching staff.
“I think it’s 5,000 but the bleachers are almost straight up,” Lauer said. “The crowd just sounds much larger. … We are excited about being there and they are always a real good host.”
Plus, playing at Gorman itself is an experience Lauer wants his players to soak in. The vibes are unlike anything found in Arizona with the vertical stands towering above the field.
Just as important as the game itself though, the team gets the chance to bond, take a true road trip as a group.
The team hasn’t had that opportunity due to the COVID-19-related restrictions they were in place the past two seasons.
“It’s going to be good,” Arviso said. “It’s going to be kinda like camp, how it’s a business trip and just straight business and I feel like that’s next level stuff.”
Even last season, a closer to normal year of sorts in some ways, Lauer felt his team now is closer with the pandemic restrictions further in the review.
“They already kinda care about each other on another level that last year didn’t,” he said. “I think that was still COVID residual but this year we have been fully out, getting after it in the weight room and hone in on our skills.”
THUNDER from page 36
“We knew coming in they played really hard. Defensively, they rallied to the ball like crazy,” Gill said. “The speed they play with on defense was a little bit of a surprise. It probably shocked our guys a little bit. That’s a well-disciplined team that flies to the football and I think that disrupted some of our timing a little bit.”
The energy from the Warhawk defense spilled over to the offense.
Quarterback Reggie Johnson was elusive when pressured and his wideouts helped him out on broken plays by finding open holes within Desert Vista’s secondary. When he had time, the senior gouged the Thunder. Johnson finished 21-of-28 for 288 yards Desert Vista wide receiver Traven Vigenser was one of Thomas’ top wideouts as he helped move the ball down the field at times. However, mistake kept the Thunder out of the end zone in their season opener. (Josh DaFoe/AFN Contributor) and four touchdowns. Two of those went to Frankie Giovinetti, the other to Dylan McFeely. Madison’s first touchdown of the day came on the ground, a 4-yard plunge by James Tivao. McFeely finished with seven receptions for 71 yards. Giovinetti had four catches for 59 yards. Jake Jackson, Madison’s 6-foot-5 wideout, caught six passes for 66 yards.
While Desert Vista struggled against the pass, it had success in limiting Madison’s stable of backs to 68 total yards.
“We knew they were a good football team. We just wanted to play our style of football,” Madison coach Rick Jackson said. “We’ve struggled a little bit with our RPO game, and they did a good job of taking our run away and making us throw.
“We’re very similar teams, style wise. It was almost like practicing against ourselves. I think our defense is one of the strengths
seeTHUNDER page 39
Say Yes To Pets and help out Lost Our Home Pet Rescue
Please donate food, toys, blankets or pet related items September 1st through October 1st.
Drop off is available at any of these locations and many others locations around Ahwatukee. Look for our Yes To Pets collection boxes in local businesses. Also go to Yestopets.org for additional drop off locations and information.
of our team and if we keep building around that we’re going to be pretty good.”
Desert Vista didn’t make excuses for its mediocre performances. The Thunder knew going into the Honor Bowl the Warhawks had already played two games prior and had a chance to work out some kinks.
Gill said his team simply ran into one of the new top dogs in San Diego and perhaps, southern California. Now, it’s back to the drawing board with one less day of rest before facing Perry on Friday.
“The big one for us was blown assignments,” Gill said. “We have to do a better job in that regard. I understand it’s a holiday but when you play a Saturday then have a Friday game against an opponent you’ve played some tough ones in the past, we have to go back to work on Monday.
“We’ve got work to do.”
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