Mountain Pointe safety Kenny Churchwell feints toward ASU football, picks UCLA - Kenny Churchwell holds up four fingers as he sports a UCLA hat on Friday,... [ read more ]
Arizona Safety Kenny Churchwell is a Bruin -
Arizona Safety Kenny Churchwell is a Bruin
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Kenny Churchwell Commits To UCLA - Kenny Churchwell announced his commitment to UCLA on Friday morning.
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Wellbrock hired at Mountain Pointe - Haley StesiakPosted January 23, 2018 at 11:23 am
Rich Wellbrock has... [ read more ]
Phoenix Mountain Pointe hires Rich Wellbrock as next football coach - Rich Wellbrock, hired at Mountain Pointe, coached at Basha for one season... [ read more ]
Rich Wellbrock poised to become new Pride football coach -
Rich Wellbrock selected as new Mountain Point High head football coach... [ read more ]
Major colleges are going to be coming through Arizona in May to see all the talent. There’s a lot and it just keeps growing. The 2019 class is as deep and talented as any that has come through in the past 10 years.
This is the azcentral sports’ Big 150, and each week, we’ll add 10 names to the list.
No. 12 Lacarea Pleasant Johnson, Mountain Pointe, DB, 6-2, 180
His recruiting ramped up in the spring with offers from Colorado, Florida, Iowa State, Missouri NAU. It’s a matter of time before ASU and Arizona offer. He is fast with great range and top-notch ball skills. Great athlete. Plays receiver on offense. He had 20 tackles and an interception last season.
No. 56 Jakim McKinney, Mountain Pointe, RB, 5-7, 160
Ran for 1,300 yards last season, showing great burst and change-of-speed moves that had tacklers grasping at air in 6A.
No. 57 Nick Wallerstedt, Mountain Pointe, QB/Athlete, 6-3, 185
A great multi-sport athlete in football and baseball. He started several games his sophomore year, then became the full-time starter last season when he passed for close to 1,600 yards and ran for 711 yards.
No. 101 Anthony Dedrick, Mountain Pointe, TE/DE, 6-4, 235
He played in just six games last season, totally 13 tackles. But he has made dramatic steps in his recruiting with offers from South Dakota State, San Diego State and New Mexico State since May 7.
Richard Obert, azcentral sportsPublished 11:07 a.m. MT March 28, 2018
Phoenix Mountain Pointe continues to make moves beyond the Norris Vaughan era with new head coach Rich Wellbrock adding Conrad Hamilton as his defensive coordinator and Ross Crow as offensive coordinator.
Both men were ran high school programs in the Valley.
Hamilton was head coach at both Phoenix North Canyon and Scottsdale Chaparral. He was defensive coordinator on two of Chaparral’s state championship teams during the Charlie Ragle era.
Crow led Avondale Agua Fria’s program the last two years. Before that, Crow was head coach at Phoenix Sierra Linda.
“I’m just excited for our kids, to get to be coached by a staff that both Ross and Conrad has helped me put together,” Wellbrock said of the coaching additions. “I know the community is really excited.”
Wellbrock said that Hamilton is bringing his defensive coaches from Chaparral with him.
Crow also is bringing help, according to Wellbrock.
“I’ve kind of given him and Ross a little leeway hiring their own guys,” Wellbrock said. “At this level, you’ve got to have guys you can trust.”
Pride stocked with talent once again
Mountain Pointe again figures to have one of the best teams in the state with the return of quarterback Nick Wallerstedt, running back Jakim McKinney and offensive lineman Deandre Henry. Mountain Pointe also has one of the top defensive backs in the West in Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson.
Crow was offensive coordinator at Surprise Shadow Ridge before he became head coach at Sierra Linda, where he was 7-13 in two seasons. His Agua Fria teams went 2-8 and 1-9.
Hamilton teaches at Chaparral, but the Firebirds went out of state for their next head coach, hiring offensive-minded Brent Barnes, who had a successful run at Norman (Okla.) North, where he was 26-9 in three years.
Nine of Hamilton’s 10 years coaching high school football in the Valley was spent at Chaparral. He was head coach at North Canyon for one season, before returning to Chaparral. He was the DC at Chaparral on two of the state title teams while Chaparral strung together three championships in a row from 2009-11.
Hamilton left Chaparral as head coach in 2016 to join Todd Graham’s staff at Arizona State as a defensive analyst. He returned to Chaparral last year back in his role as defensive coordinator under Thomas Lewis.
Hamilton is a fiery coach, just like Wellbrock.
How will that mix on the sideline?
“When we’re fired up, we’ll keep an arm’s distance,” Wellbrock said. “We want the best for the kids.
“After we talked, we figured out it was a good union. I’m excited.”
Wellbrock, who was 2-8 in his only season leading Chandler Basha in 2017, says this will be much like his days at Goodyear Desert Edge, where he delegated to coordinators. The Scorpions had a big run under Wellbrook, leading to a state championship in 2015.
Following Mountain Pointe’s trouncing of the eighth-seeded Highland Hawks in the 6A quarterfinal at Karl Kiefer Stadium Friday night, coach Norris Vaughan spoke to his team with joy and high praise.
But one part of his postgame speech stood out more than the rest.
“It’s all about believing in one another,” Vaughan said.
And as senior two-way player Delano Salgado made his way to the middle of the huddle and raised his helmet in the air with his teammates, they yelled in unison: “Believe.”
Despite being the top seed in the 6A playoffs, Mountain Pointe approached Friday’s game with a strong sense of determination. At the same stadium just over a month ago, Highland gave the Pride a run for its money and a reason to fear its season hopes could come crashing down.
The Hawks went into the locker room with a 13-0 halftime lead but ended up shocked in the end as Mountain Pointe flipped the switch in the second half and pulled off a dramatic 14-13 win – one that exemplified great character at that point in the season.
“First time we played (them), we turned the ball over three times inside our own 20,” Vaughan said. “We’ve gotten much better since then.”
One way Mountain Pointe has significantly improved over the course of its season has been through the passing game and its ability to open up the offense, in part because of its running game.
Junior quarterback Nick Wallerstedt has grown up before Vaughan’s eyes and he put his strong arm and accuracy to the test in the second quarter. After back-to-back first-down runs by Gary Bragg and Marshawn Gibson, Wallerstedt found Gibson wide open on a play-action pass for a 31-yard touchdown to give Mountain Pointe a 14-0 lead.
Following an impressive defensive stand, Wallerstedt was given another golden opportunity to air it out. The Pride began the ensuing drive with a few run plays and a first-down completion to Sky Hinojosa.
One play later, with the Highland secondary sleeping, Wallerstedt launched one of the more perfect passes you’ll see on a football field as Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson hauled it in for a 62-yard touchdown to give the Pride a comfortable 21-0 lead heading into halftime.
From then on, it was all Mountain Pointe.
The Pride defense showed up in full force as it shut down Highland quarterback Kaleb Herbert and the Hawks offense to the tune of just one first down in the first half.
“We’ve been playing really well the last three weeks,” Vaughan said. “Around this time of year, we always seem to come on and play better football.”
The play of the night came in the third quarter following an onside kick recovered by Highland. Herbert and the Hawks were marching down the field looking to cut the score in half following a touchdown pass to trim the lead to 28-7.
Herbert stepped back in the pocket, surveyed the secondary looking for an open receiver, scrambled out right and on a ball that appeared to be out of everyone’s reach, Gibson jumped in the air and brought down a miraculous one-handed interception to put a stop to Highland’s momentum shift.
It highlighted an outstanding defensive performance by one of the best defenses in 6A.
For Mountain Pointe, the quarterfinal win is only the beginning in what hopes to be a playoff run of redemption, following last year’s state championship loss.
“We’re definitely playing with a chip on our shoulder,” Salgado said. “Even though we’re the No. 1 team, we’re not going to play like it. We’re going to act like we’ve been here before and it’s really important to us to come back and finish this time.”
Mountain Pointe will move on to play the fourth-seeded Perry Pumas next week for a chance to return to the 6A State Championship in Tucson.
The Pumas were thought to be the top seed heading into the playoffs but were ousted by Mountain Pointe. They’re coming off a convincing 72-14 victory over No. 5 Hamilton.
“We know they have a great quarterback and a great team through the air,” Salgado said. “But on the other side, we have a great defense so we’re going to come out and play hard.”
Against Hamilton, the Perry Pumas lit up the scoreboard after the two teams battled in a shootout earlier this season with a final score of 65-63. When referring to a great quarterback and a great team through the air, Salgado was referring to quarterback Brock Purdy and receivers D’shayne James and Colby Dickie.
Before Friday’s matchup against Hamilton, Purdy had tallied over 3,000 passing yards and over 700 rushing yards on the season. Contributing to an offense that has scored 760 points this season, Dickie and James have combined for 1,755 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air this season.
But they probably haven’t seen a secondary like Mountain Pointe’s since their lone loss to Chandler earlier this year.
+1
Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Contributor
Along with their potent offense, the Pumas display a strong defense that could limit the strong running game of Mountain Pointe’s Gary Bragg, Jakim McKinney and Salgado. Travis Beckman, Jobiin Sweatt and Harley Scott have been nuisances in backfields all season long, tallying a combined 24 sacks.
Unlike most of the remaining state playoff games, these two teams haven’t faced off yet this season, so they are both unfamiliar with the other. But that just means that on Friday night, these two teams will be in for an exciting matchup to see who will go to the 6A State Championship game in Tucson.
Mountain Pointe and Perry kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at McClintock High School in Tempe.
Chandler vs. Red Mountain.
In the other 6A semifinal game, the Chandler Wolves will face off with the Red Mountain Lions. These two teams played against each other during zero week back in August and the Wolves put a beating on the Mountain Lions, winning 42-14. Since then, though, both teams have gone through a lot of adversity.
After losing their first two games of the season, Red Mountain might be the hottest team in the state, winning 10 straight games behind performances from all-around athlete Lance Lawson.
The Wolves have also gone through their own adversity as they were forced to play a slew of games without some of their key players.
Fully healthy, the Wolves look to return to the State Championship game for the second straight year.
Mountain Pointe’s Marshawn Gibson, #7, grabs what would have been a touchdown pass away from Highland’s Dayton Huffman, #2, late in the third quarter. Photo by Cheryl Haselhorst
For the #1 seed Mountain Pointe Pride, its quest back to the 6A State Championship begins and ends with one word.
Believe.
Following its 44-7 trouncing of the #8 seed Highland Hawks in the 6A quarterfinal at Karl Kiefer Stadium Friday night, coach Norris Vaughan spoke to his team with joy and high praise. But one part of his postgame speech stood out more than the rest.
“It’s all about believing in one another,” Vaughan said.
And as senior two-way player Delano Salgado made his way to the middle of the huddle and raised his helmet in the air with his teammates, they each yelled the same word in unison. Believe.
Despite being the top seed in the 6A playoffs, Mountain Pointe approached Friday’s game with a strong sense of determination. At Karl Kiefer Stadium just over a month ago, Highland gave the Pride a run for its money and a reason to fear its season hopes coming to a crash.
The Hawks went into the locker room with a 13-0 halftime lead but ended up shocked in the end as Mountain Pointe turned the switch on in the second half and pulled off a dramatic 14-13 win. A win that exemplified great character at that point in the season.
“First time we played (them), we turned the ball over three times inside our own 20,” Vaughan said. “We’ve gotten much better since then.”
One way Mountain Pointe has significantly improved over the course of its season has been through the passing game and its ability to open up the offense much in part because of its running game.
Junior quarterback Nick Wallerstedt has grown up before Vaughan’s eyes and he put his strong arm and accuracy to test in the second quarter. After back-to-back first down runs by Gary Bragg and Marshawn Gibson, Wallerstedt found Gibson wide open on a play-action pass for a 31 yard touchdown to give Mountain Pointe a 14-0 lead.
Following an impressive defensive stand, Wallerstedt was given another golden opportunity to air it out. The Pride began the ensuing drive with a few run plays, and a first down completion to Sky Hinojosa. One play later, with the Highland secondary sleeping, Wallerstedt aired out one of the more perfect passes that you’ll see on a football field as Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson hauled it in for a 62 yard touchdown to give the Pride a comfortable 21-0 lead heading into halftime.
From then on, it was all Mountain Pointe.
The Pride defense showed up in full force as it shutdown Highland quarterback Kaleb Herbert and the Hawks offense to the tune of just one first down in the first half.
“We’ve been playing really well the last three weeks,” Vaughan said. “Around this time of year we always seem to come on and play better football.”
The play of the night came in the third quarter following an onside kick recovered by Highland. Herbert and the Hawks were marching down the field looking to cut the score in half following a touchdown pass to cut the lead to 28-7.
Herbert stepped back in the pocket, surveyed the secondary looking for an open receiver, scrambled out right and on a ball that appeared to be out of everyone’s reach, Gibson jumped in the air and brought down a miraculous one-handed interception to put a stop to Highland’s momentum shift.
It highlighted an outstanding defensive performance by one of the best defenses in 6A.
For Mountain Pointe, Friday night’s quarterfinal win is only the beginning in what hopes to be a playoff run of redemption following last year’s state championship loss.
“We’re definitely playing with a chip on our shoulder,” Salgado said. “Even though we’re the number one team, we’re not going to play like it. We’re going to act like we’ve been here before and it’s really important to us to come back and finish this time.”
Mountain Pointe will move on to play the #4 seed Perry Pumas next week for a chance to return to the 6A State Championship in Tucson.
The Pumas were thought to be the top seed heading into the playoffs but were ousted by Mountain Pointe. They’re coming off a convincing 72-14 victory over #5 Hamilton.
“We know they have a great quarterback and a great team through the air,” Salgado said. “But on the other side, we have a great defense so we’re going to come out and play hard.”
Mountain Pointe’s Jakim McKinney, #33, reaches out to catch the ball before heading into the end zone for the Pride’s second touchdown. Photo by Cheryl Haselhorst
No. 1 Mountain Pointe flexed its muscle in Ahwatukee on Friday, rolling over the Cibola Raiders 65-0.
The Pride got off to a relatively slow start, but once the scoring opened up, it was all Mountain Pointe. Jakim McKinney’s 56-yard run made it 7-0 Pride midway through the first quarter.
Only a couple minutes later, a 50-yard pass from Nick Wallerstedt to Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson gave Mountain Pointe a 13-0 lead. After a 65-yard run by Gary Bragg, pick-six by Marshawn Gibson, touchdown run by Je’on Moss and 34-yard field goal, it was 37-0 Pride at the half.
Mountain Pointe dominated the football on both ends, having its way with a Raiders team that was visibly less athletic, talented and disciplined than the Pride. Head coach Norris Vaughan said his team was simply dominant.
“We just played well in every department,” Vaughan said. “We had too much speed for them, we played well and we executed. That’s all I can hope for.”
It was more of the same in the second half for the Pride as they continued to crush Cibola. Bragg’s 14-yard run made it 44-0 halfway through the third quarter. After a big punt return, Wallerstedt found Sky Hinoiosa for the 10-yard score, giving the Pride a 51-0 lead through three quarters of play.
With plenty of backup players in, Mountain Pointe scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter thanks to its defensive and special teams prowess. A blocked field goal attempt was returned for 69 yards by Kobe Blackwell to extend the Pride’s lead to 58, while a rushing touchdown by Ahmen Williams brought the game to its final score of 65-0.
Next up for Mountain Pointe is a matchup with Highland, who the Pride scraped past 14-13 on Oct. 6. Vaughan called the Hawks a “tough team” and looks forward to what his group can do.
“Last time we had like three turnovers in the first quarter,” Vaughan said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball and not do that kind of stuff. I think we’ll be fine.”
Mountain Pointe got two offensive linemen — Matthew Pola-Mao and Cole Cundary — back from injury on Friday. It made a world of difference protecting Wallerstedt and getting a push in the run game.
Fully healthy and playing its best football, the Pride enter next Friday’s matchup with high confidence. All that remains is executing between the lines once again in front of their home fans.
Quarterback Nick Wallerstedt found the end zone three times through the air and once on the ground. JaKim McKinney and Gary Bragg each ran for two touchdowns. Kenny Churchwell and Delano Salgado manned the secondary with ease.
No. 3-ranked Mountain Pointe returned to its brand of football on Friday night and finished the regular season unbeaten on the road, defeating the Corona del Sol Aztecs at Hascall Henshaw Stadium, 56-6.
A week after suffering its first loss at home since 2011 to the hands of then No. 5-ranked Desert Ridge, Mountain Pointe (7-2) controlled both sides of the ball from the opening kickoff and cruised to an easy win over Corona (1-8).
“I’m really proud with how these guys rebounded,” Mountain Pointe coach Norris Vaughan said. “It was a great team victory, we needed this.”
After being held to just 181 yards on the ground against Desert Ridge, the Mountain Pointe rushing attack proved relentless on Friday night as it has most of the season, with McKinney and Bragg leading the way.
Coming into its final road game of the season averaging 258.8 yards per game — leading all 6A Central teams — the Pride offensive attack stood tall behind its offensive line as the running game returned to its former self and Wallerstedt aired it out.
On its opening drive of the game, Mountain Pointe recorded two quick first downs and on a broken coverage down the field, Wallerstedt found Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson for a wide open touchdown to give the Pride an early 7-0 lead.
It was the first of three passing touchdowns for the junior quarterback and his best game of the season through the air. He credits his improvements throughout the season to both his faith and his coaches on the sideline.
“The coaches have really been believing in me,” Wallerstedt said. “I’ve just been believing in my arm and the rest has figured itself out.”
“He’s really coming into himself,” Vaughan said.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Pride forced two Ryan Helt interceptions and recovered a fumble on Corona’s first drive of the second half.
Mountain Pointe’s defensive unit has often failed to receive the notoriety during the season’s victories, but with a 6A Central leading 14 interceptions coming into Friday night’s game, it showed why it’s a force to be reckon with.
“We did everything we wanted to do tonight,” Vaughan said. “The defense stepped up and really forced [them] into some mistakes.”
Heading into its final regular season game, the game plan for Mountain Pointe is to keep things simple. Don’t try to do too much but also place an importance on making the plays that need to be made.
“We just need to focus on consistency,” Vaughan said. “Penalties continue to hurt us and we really need to work on that.”
Mountain Pointe will look to carry momentum into its final regular season game next week and look to make a statement as it heads into the playoffs. The Pride will take on the No. 15-ranked Gilbert Tigers on senior night.
It’s an annual event that draws close to 10,000 people, pits two of the best high school football teams in Arizona against each other and showcases some of the best talent in the state.
It’s the Ahwatukee Bowl.
This year’s game may be more difficult to predict than any in the past as both teams will take the field at Desert Vista high school Thursday night with records of 4-1. They both bring strong defenses and an ability to score the football in more ways than one.
Mountain Pointe has had a strong start to the season while it battled with crucial injuries early in the season.
Gary Bragg and Jakim McKinney have become one of the best running back duos in the state, racking up 963 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Nick Wallerstedt has proved to be just as dangerous running the ball, rushing for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
The Pride scored 20-plus points in all five of their games and has allowed their defense to shine early this season. A strong secondary consisting of Kenny Churchwell, Delano Salgado, Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson and Marshawn Gibson have been lights out, picking off six passes and deflecting 24 more.
The defensive line has been just as strong. Shomari Hayes and Tyre Johnson have combined for 61 tackles and four sacks and junior Kenneth Lofton has also broken into the backfield for five sacks this season.
Altogether, the defense has allowed opposing teams to score a total of only 100 points this season, with 70 of those points coming in two games.
The Thunder has attacked its opponents in a different way from the Pride, but it has a strong approach on the defensive side of the ball that has kept most of their opponents quiet.
The team has only allowed their opponents to score 95 points, with 49 of them coming in their season-opening loss to a strong Perry squad that has since taken the 6A scene by storm.
Since that game, Desert Vista has been as strong as ever, recently pitching a shutout against Dobson High.
The defense has been led by senior linebacker Larry Davis, who has racked up a total of 47 tackles this season and has sacked the opposing quarterback four times this season.
Offensively, the Thunder has relied on new quarterback Derek Kline, who had thrown for 849 yards and nine touchdowns leading into a 42-0 win over Dobson last Friday.
Kline has shown his ability to spread the ball around to several of his weapons as four different receivers have 100-plus yards and five have found the end zone in 2017.
Heading into their matchup with Dobson, Kline had also led the Thunder in rushing with 150 yards and sophomore Tyson Grubbs has added 142 yards on the ground as well.
While the Thunder has been somewhat pass heavy, it has still been able to find the end zone on the ground as senior Keishaud White has scored three touchdowns on the ground.
The Thunder established an ability to adapt to whatever opposing defenses throw at them so far through 2017 and come Thursday its ability to do that will be more important than ever.
As both teams have established where their strengths lie, the 2017 Tukee Bowl will come down to a couple of different things.
How Kline fares against a strong Mountain Pointe secondary will be huge. If the 6-foot-5 gunslinger, who will experience his first Ahwatukee Bowl experience, can be affective and avoid turnovers, the Thunder could establish an early lead. Look for White and Navy commit James Stagg to play a big role in the passing game.
The Thunder may also try to establish a run game with a stable of backs in Grubbs, White, and Travon Offut, who is coming off a 15 carry 92-yard performance against Dobson. With the strong defensive play of the Mountain Pointe lineman, this may prove difficult for the Thunder.
Another key piece will be Mountain Pointe’s ability to establish the run game.
It hasn’t had a problem accomplishing that this year, which in turn has opened a lot of possibilities for the rest of the Pride offense. The main benefactor of that has been Wallerstedt, who has taken advantage of defenses keying on Bragg and McKinney with option runs and play action passes.
Keying in on the run game and forcing Mountain Pointe to beat them through the air could be a major factor for the Desert Vista defenders.
This is where Davis and Humphrey will be crucial for the home team as the Mountain Pointe run game has been devastating teams all season long.
Both teams are filled with loads of talent and many different players could emerge to fill a major role in one of the most highly anticipated rivalry games in Arizona.
Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe will kick off at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Desert Vista High School.
-Do you have a human-interest or feature story idea? Contact Sports Editor Greg Macafee at gmacafee@timespublications.com or 585-610-2344. Follow Greg on Twitter @greg_macafee
Mountain View’s Jacobby Dinwiddie (red) and Mountain Pointe’s Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson grew up with each other and had several one-on-one battles on Friday night. (Darryl Webb/MyNewsMesa.com)
Anyone on the sideline, close to the action, had to notice that there was a little something extra going on between Jacobby Dinwiddie and Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson.
The two were getting after it all game long on Friday night as Mountain View’s top wide receiver, Dinwiddie, and Mountain Pointe’s Pleasant-Johnson, a cornerback, were on the same side of the field for most of the Pride’s 35-3 win.
It was more than the two quality athletes trying to get the best of each other in one-on-one matchups.
There was emotion, respect and familiarity between the two competitors.
And for good reason.
Their earliest memories as little kids are of each other. Their moms are best of friends and the boys essentially grew up with each other. They’ve been battling each other – whether it was video games or who made the best ramen noodles or red zone jump balls – ever since.
“We call each other blood brothers,” Dinwiddie said. “We’ve known each since we were born. We grew up together and were rarely apart. We always played games and competed for everything.”
Boredom meant heading outside and practicing against each other.
“We’ve always had each other’s back,” Pleasant-Johnson said. “When we got bored we would go out and run routes and be competitive with each other.”
Where one was, there was the other.
That seemed to be the case last night as well. Were No. 13 was, No. 31 was right there with him.
Twice in the red zone they had to battle for the ball.
In a jump ball scenario Pleasant-Johnson, whose mother Jacquel Pleasant was taken by cancer in 2011, came down with the interception. The second time, Dinwiddie ran a good route, got to the pylon, but couldn’t secure the ball. It hit him in the hands, but Pleasant-Johnson disrupted the play.
“I saw (Mountain View quarterback) Brandon (Nunez) look my way,” Pleasant-Johnson said of the interception. “I knew it was coming my way and I got the job one. It was very exciting.”
Dinwiddie knew it was going to be a battle all game.
“It was fun to go against someone who knows you,” Dinwiddie said. “He knows you better than yourself. It was fun competition. It helps you get better.”
Dinwiddie finished with seven catches for 85 yards, and had a big pass play for a TD called back because a wide receiver held to help spring him. He had a good game, but Pleasant-Johnson won in the red zone and the scoreboard.
“We were just competing out there,” Dinwiddie said. “We try and make each other better. When it was over we were taking pictures, and I will probably chill with him (on Friday night) for a little bit. We both made some plays, but I should have had one of those touchdowns. You learn from it.”
– Jason P. Skoda is a senior writer for MyNewsMesa.com. Send Mesa-based story ideas to jskoda@mynewsmesa.com.
Mountain Pointe’s Jakim McKinney, #33, evades a Mountain View tackle on his way into the end zone for the Pride’s first touchdown. [Photo by Cheryl Haselhorst]
For a team that finished third in the 6A Conference in 2016 and fell short in the state title game, Phoenix Mountain Pointe looks to be doing everything they can to avenge last season’s result.
A week after upsetting then No.1 Chandler on the road, top-ranked Mountain Pointe kept its foot on the gas pedal Friday night, cruising to a 35-3 victory over No. 22 Mesa Mountain View.
“We were dominant on both offense and defense tonight,” Mountain Pointe coach Norris Vaughan said. “Our quarterback made plays and our backs ran really hard behind our line for most of the game.”
Mountain Pointe (3-1) wasn’t perfect on either side of the ball by any means. It racked up over a dozen penalties throughout the game, which allowed Mountain View (2-2) a time of possession which nearly seemed like an eternity. Fortunately for the Pride, secondary play from Kenny Churchwell and Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson kept the Toros out of the end-zone numerous times despite the long list of penalties.
“[They] certainly made their fair share of plays,” Vaughan said. “We were so dominant on defense but it was the penalties that allowed them to stay on the field and keep their drives going.”
For the second straight week, Mountain Pointe got the offensive push up front that they’re accustomed to seeing, which created a plethora of holes for the backfield.
After a drive early on led to a touchdown run by Jakim McKinney, a hole opened up once again to start the second quarter and Gary Bragg found paydirt for the second rushing touchdown in the game, scampering for a 23-yard touchdown to give the Pride a 14-3 lead.
A critical mistake to go for it on fourth down deep in their own territory, came back to bite the Toros right before the half. Mountain Pointe took over possession at the Toros’ 23-yard-line and a few plays later, McKinney ran it in from nine yards out for his second touchdown of the game.
“We’ve all been working really hard at practice,” McKinney said. “Sometimes the guys up front make mistakes but they get right back up and they got a lot better tonight.”
A few minutes before the half, Mountain View had their best opportunity to get back in the game but another crucial mistake proved costly. On a screen pass out left, quarterback Brandon Nuñez hit Jacobby Dinwiddie in the flat and the offensive line carved out an open path to the end zone and Dinwiddie took it to the house for what seemed like a must-have touchdown. Unfortunately, a holding penalty negated the touchdown pass and Mountain Pointe went into the half with a 21-3 lead.
From there the rout continued as on the opening play of the second half, a hole practically the size of Arizona opened and quarterback Nick Wallerstedt it himself for a 77-yard touchdown run.
“We knew what to expect tonight and I felt like our guys came out and played really hard on both sides,” Vaughan said. “We just need to cut down on penalties.”
To go along with four touchdowns on the ground, Wallerstedt connected with Pleasant-Johnson late in the fourth on a touchdown pass. He finished with a TD reception and an interception — a pick for a touchback late in the second quarter that stalled a Mountain View drive.
The Pride will return home next week for the first time this season, when they welcome quarterback phenom Spencer Rattler and Pinnacle High School (3-2).
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Payment. As consideration for American Youth Services, Inc. providing the Hosting Services hereunder, Customer agrees to pay American Youth Services, Inc. the aggregate yearly fee based on the yearly hosting services and the terms selected.
Provision of Services. American Youth Services, Inc. will provide Customer with the Services ordered that are described in the Hosting Package Features elsewhere in this document. Customer understands and agrees that American Youth Services, Inc. will host and create the Web site solely in accordance with the information provided by Customer.
Rights to the Web Site and Content. With the exception of any Third-Party Materials and Background Technology as set forth in Section 4, Customer and American Youth Services, Inc. mutually own the Customer Content. "Customer Content" means all content or information (including, without limitation, any text, music, sound, photographs, video, graphics, data, or software), in any medium, provided by Customer to American Youth Services, Inc. "Third-Party Materials" means any content, software, or other computer programming material that is owned by an entity other than American Youth Services, Inc., and licensed by American Youth Services, Inc. or generally available to the public, including Customer, under published licensing terms, and that American Youth Services, Inc. will use to display or run a Web site. American Youth Services, Inc. owns the rights to the design of the web site. If a customer stops paying the yearly fee for the web site upon cancellation the customer is not entitled to use the web site or content for any purposes what so ever.
Limited License to the Background Technology. "Background Technology" means computer programming/formatting code or operating instructions developed by or for American Youth Services, Inc. and used to host or operate the Web site or a Web server in connection with a Web site. Background Technology includes, but is not limited to, any files necessary to make forms, buttons, checkboxes, and similar functions and underlying technology or components, such as style sheets, animation templates, interface programs that link multimedia and other programs, customized graphics manipulation engines, and menu utilities, whether in database form or dynamically driven. Background Technology does not include any Customer Content. Customer may not duplicate or distribute any Background Technology to any third party without the prior written consent of American Youth Services, Inc. All rights to the Background Technology not expressly granted to Customer hereunder are retained by American Youth Services, Inc. Without limiting the foregoing, Customer agrees not to reverse-engineer, reverse-assemble, decompile, or otherwise attempt to derive any source code of the Background Technology, except as allowed by law.
Limited License to Content. Customer hereby grants to American Youth Services, Inc. the limited, nonexclusive right and license to copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, create derivative works from, modify, and otherwise use and exploit Web site, any Customer Content, or any Customer Marks provided to American Youth Services, Inc. hereunder, solely for the purpose of rendering American Youth Services, Inc’s Services under this Agreement. Such limited right and license shall extend to no other materials or for any other purpose and will terminate automatically upon termination of this Agreement for any reason.
Content Standards. Customer agrees not to provide Customer Content, and American Youth Services, Inc. will not intentionally provide to Customers any content, that (a) infringes on any third party's intellectual property or publicity/privacy rights; (b) violates any applicable law or regulation; (c) is defamatory, violent, clearly harmful, or obscene or pornographic or infringes on citizens' rights; or (d) contains any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage or interfere with any system, data, or personal information. If Customer is international, then Customer agrees to comply with all applicable local and national laws. American Youth Services, Inc. reserves the right to refuse any other subject matter it deems inappropriate.
Support. American Youth Services, Inc. agrees to provide reasonable technical support by email to Customer during American Youth Services, Inc.'s normal technical support hours. American Youth Services, Inc. will provide customer support by telephone if the customer purchased telephonic support time.
Term and Termination. (a) This Agreement is effective as of the Effective Date and shall continue unless terminated; (b) American Youth Services, Inc. may terminate this Agreement after five (5) days' written notice to Customer if Customer materially breaches this Agreement, including, without limitation, failure to pay, and fails to cure such breach during such five (5) day period; and (c) upon the termination of this Agreement, Customer will pay American Youth Services, Inc. for all Services provided to Customer by American Youth Services, Inc. prior to termination. Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, and 12 will survive termination of this Agreement.
Warranty Disclaimer. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, the Services are provided "as is," and American Youth Services, Inc. expressly disclaims all warranties and conditions of any kind, express, implied, or statutory, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. Interruption of Service: You hereby acknowledge and agree that American Youth Services, Inc. will not be liable for any temporary delay, outages or interruptions of the Services. Each party acknowledges that it has not entered into this Agreement in reliance upon any warranty or representation except those specifically set forth herein. Unless an approval process is specified herein or in a Statement, all Hosting provided by American Youth Services, Inc. to a Customer will be deemed accepted when delivered.
Indemnity. (a) Customer Indemnity. Customer will defend American Youth Services, Inc. against any third-party claim, action, suit, or proceeding alleging any breach of the covenants contained in this Agreement. Subject to Section 11, Customer shall indemnify American Youth Services, Inc. for all losses, damages, liabilities, and all reasonable expenses and costs incurred by American Youth Services, Inc. as a result of any such third-party claim, action, suit, or proceeding. (b) American Youth Services, Inc.'s Indemnity. American Youth Services, Inc. will defend Customer against any third-party claim, action, suit, or proceeding alleging any breach of the covenants contained in Section 6. Subject to Section 11, American Youth Services, Inc. shall indemnify Customer for all losses, damages, liabilities, and all reasonable expenses and costs incurred by Customer as a result of any such third-party claim, action, suit, or proceeding. (c) Mechanics of Indemnity. The indemnifying party's obligations are conditioned upon the indemnified party: (i) giving the indemnifying party prompt, written notice of any claim, action, suit, or proceeding for which the indemnified party is seeking indemnity; (ii) granting control of the defense and settlement to the indemnifying party; and (iii) reasonably cooperating with the indemnifying party at the indemnifying party's expense.
Limitation of Liability. AMERICAN YOUTH SERVICES, INC.'S LIABILITY HEREUNDER SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY CUSTOMER TO AMERICAN YOUTH SERVICES, INC. DURING THE THREE (3) MONTH PERIOD BEFORE THE ACTION AROSE. AMERICAN YOUTH SERVICES, INC. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR (A) ANY LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS OR (B) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS), REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OR ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF AMERICAN YOUTH SERVICES, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THESE LIMITATIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND ABSENT SUCH LIMITATIONS, AMERICAN YOUTH SERVICES, INC. WOULD NOT ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT.
