(GILBERT, Ariz.) Gilbert Christian football posted a dominant 23–10 victory over ALA-Ironwood in front of a large home crowd on Friday evening. The Knights' defense looked gritty in the affair, and the offense put on a show, making plays and converting when it counted to earn the win.
"This was a real team effort," Head Coach John Carlson said. "I thought we opened strong and had a lot more urgency, which was our focus this week. We also brought much more physicality, and brought the fight to them all night."
The win was Carlson's first at the helm of the program.
The Warriors were plagued by penalties in the affair and the home team took advantage of the mishaps from the start. A horse-collar and an offsides aided the Knights' quest, opening the door for senior Kaleb Powell to light up the scoreboard with a 35-yard field goal.
ALA-Ironwood responded with one of its own at the 8:34 mark, but the tie was brief, as junior quarterback Tyler Burr turned up the heat, hitting Powell on consecutive downs, before handing off to junior running back Sam Webb, who rushed for the Knights' first down.
Sophomore receiver Kamari Stanbury was the next target for Burr as a long pass to the endzone put six points the scoreboard at 6:33 for Gilbert Christian, and Powell successfully put it through the uprights to make it 10-3.
Powell kicked off next and came up with a crucial tackle seconds later after a big Warriors' punt return put ALA-Ironwood into Knights' territory. Senior Jesse Morales had seen enough, stopping the ensuing drive with a ferocious tackle, before the Warriors were sent back 15 more on a chop block penalty. Senior Colby Johnston made it count with another take down, and a holding violation sent ALA in the wrong direction again. Senior Andrew McGuigan kept the defensive rout going with a tackle of his own, before a swarm of Knights created a wall that could not be bypassed, and senior Colton Rogers picked up another stop to bring about fourth down.
The Knights' next sequence started way back at the 12, but GCHS chipped its way up the field one play at a time, beginning with a Webb rush and then a Burr keeper for first down. Burr fired a short pass at Webb next, and Webb made the most of it, bobbing, weaving and breaking tackles in beast mode before shooting up the sideline for a big gain. Gilbert Christian got some good looks at the endzone but eventually settled for another Powell field goal at 1:57 to stretch the margin to 10.
The GCHS defense took the field, but Powell decided that he wasn't done scoring, and in a very quick turn of events, he picked off the Warriors' QB and brought it to the house to put the Knights out front 19-3, before nailing the extra point to give his team 20.
ALA-Ironwood started the second half with an interception of its own and a concerning drive down the pitch. Carlson signaled for a timeout to discuss the setback, and it served its purpose as Gilbert Christian emerged re-focused and ready to play.
Powell took aim on the Warriors' quarterback and came up with a big sack out of the huddle, and an airborne Hyatt Lang broke up a dangerous pass on the four-yard line to bring up an ALA third down attempt. Johnston then disturbed another deep attempt, leading to frustration on the Warriors' sideline. A false start on fourth down helped GCHS, and a final incomplete pass in the endzone gave the Knights the ball, once again.
Gilbert Christian's final scoring drive was kick-started by a huge 35-yard run up the sideline from senior Nate Dickinson. Webb helped the cause with five more on the next down, but the Warriors' defense held off the touchdown and Powell's golden boot struck again to put the Knights up by 20.
"So many players should be highlighted tonight," Carlson said. "KP's pick-six was the huge play in this game for our defense, it changed the momentum for us. Jesse Morales really dominated on the D-line and was very disruptive to their run game. Colton Rogers is always a beast out there, playing both ways. Hyatt Lang was great and I thought that he stood out, despite being double and triple teamed all night, and that opened up a lot of opportunities for our other guys. Sam Webb had some phenomenal runs, some really tough, statement type of runs. But all the credit to our offensive line for doing its job and giving him the opportunity to do that."
Powell loomed on both ends of the field, scoring 17 in the impressive effort by way of three field goals, an interception for touchdown, and two extra points. He also recorded a sack and a slew of tackles (four solo, five assisted) in the contest.
Burr completed 9-of-20 for 147 passing yards, while throwing for a touchdown for the Knights. Webb rushed for 114 yards on 21 carries and Stanbury grabbed 59 yards with three receptions.
Lang led the defense with seven solo tackles, three assisted takedowns and a sack. Senior Kaden Gorsline also made a huge impact, with two solo and seven assisted tackles in the triumph.
"I think the main difference tonight was that we started off strong," Lang said. "We changed our pregame warm-up, and Coach Carlson had us hyped up, which helped us a lot. I am really proud of us, we worked so hard and everyone played their souls out."
With the win, GCHS improves to 1-2 on the season. ALA-Ironwood falls to 1-2 overall.
"It felt like family out there," Morales said. "We came out aggressively and played as a team tonight. We have an unbreakable bond which I think is evident in how we came back after some adversity early in the season. This was awesome."
Gilbert Christian returns to its home field next Friday, September 8th to take on Kingman High. The match-up is slated for 7:00pm.
-GO KNIGHTS-
