SCOTTSDALE — The 2024 football season came to a close on Friday night for the No. 9 Willcox Cowboys following a stinging 27-21 loss to the No. 8 Scottsdale Prep Spartans in the first round of the 2A Playoffs. It was a game plagued with turnovers for the Cowboys; something coach Jeston Lotts said was uncharacteristic of his team leading up to this point.
“That was out of the blue,” Lotts said about the team’s five turnovers in the game. “Sometimes the ball bounces that way, you know? To win a State Championship, you can’t do things like that. … That was just so uncharacteristic of us, we didn’t do that all year.”
Things got off to a hot start for Willcox as it was able to strike first on a run by Ismael Cuevas on the opening drive. Cuevas then proceeded to kick the extra point, which was good, to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead with 5:18 left in the first quarter.
On the kickoff, Scottsdale Prep fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Willcox at the 12-yard-line. From there, Joseph Sanchez handed the ball off to Cuevas once again who ran the ball for another touchdown. His extra point attempt was good, extending the lead to 14-0 with 5:02 left in the half.
The momentum for Willcox wouldn’t last long. It only took two plays for Scottsdale Prep to reach the end zone, coming on a pass from Judah Mizysak to Will Ryken good for 69 yards. The kick was up and in, making it 14-7 with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter.
The following possession for Willcox resulted in an interception. Scottsdale Prep took over at its own 36, where it was able to progress down the field, capping off the drive with a quarterback sneak by Mizysak for a touchdown. The extra-point attempt was blocked, making it 14-13 Willcox leading with 10:49 left before the half.
Things initially seemed promising on the following drive for Willcox, as they continued to move the chains down the field. Once the Cowboys reached the red zone, the ball popped out of the hands of the running back and was recovered by Scottsdale Prep at the 11.
Defense forced a quick three-and-out for the Spartans, thanks in part to back-to-back fumbles on the snap by Scottsdale Prep.
Willcox once again was able to reach the red zone, this time progressing all the way to the 2, before a fumble by Sanchez was picked up and ran all the way back for a touchdown by Brendan Maclean with 1:58 left in the half. The Spartans elected to go for two and were able to convert on a pass from Mizysak to Sehaj Mahli, making it 21-14.
Coming back out of the half, Scottsdale Prep got the ball to start but defense forced another quick three-and-out.
Willcox got the ball at the Spartans’ 43, pounding away on the ground to keep moving down the field. From the 2, Landon Ward was able to take the ball in for the touchdown before the extra-point from Cuevas tied the game at 21.
Scottsdale Prep’s following possession saw it march down to the Willcox 20 before eventually stalling and turning the ball over on downs.
Willcox took over with 11:52 left in the fourth quarter and began driving down the field. Attacking the run game hard, they were again able to advance to the red zone before yet another fumble was recovered by the Spartans at the 12 with 7:04 remaining.
It was a quick strike for Scottsdale Prep on its following possession, as it was able to strike on the first play of the drive. Mizysak connected with Ryken once again for an 88-yard touchdown. Yet again, Willcox was able to get a hand on the ball on the extra-point attempt to force a miss, making it 27-21 Scottsdale Prep with 6:49 remaining to play.
Willcox knew it needed to score to keep its playoff hopes alive, and once again the drive looked promising.
Another turnover would ultimately be the nail in the coffin for the Cowboys. A fumble on the snap with 1:43 remaining in the game was recovered by Scottsdale Prep.
Although Scottsdale Prep didn’t do anything off the turnover, it ate up enough of the clock to leave just 19 seconds left for the Cowboys to try to so something. They gave it their best effort, but ultimately came up short.
It was an emotional ending to the game for the team, filled with 12 seniors on the roster whose careers all came to a close. As tears rolled down their cheeks after the game as they gathered in the end zone for the huddle, the coaches reminded them of all they had accomplished.
“We always tell them that we’re proud of them and that we love them,” Lotts said. “It’s my first year as head coach at Willcox… It’s just been such a cool experience to be embraced by this community. My heart goes out to the seniors. We’ll miss them, but we’ll come back. This is a strong community and a strong high school.”
Ward, the top rusher in Southern Arizona heading into the game, finished with 178 rushing yards. The Cowboys ran for 360 as a team while allowing Scottsdale Prep only 3.
Lotts credited his line play for those stats.
“Our offensive line is full of seniors, we have one junior on there,” Lotts said. “They did a really good job. We came into the season knowing that our backs were amazing, but could we put together an offensive line. And they came together, they just got better every week.”
Recommended for you
