Senior quarterback Niko Haen led the Sunnyslope (5-4, 2-2) offense with four touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 201 yards with no interceptions and led the Vikings with 70 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Niko Haen’s favorite target Friday, as it has been all season, was his twin brother David, who caught seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Sunnyslope coach Damon Pieri attributed the twins’ success Friday to the line giving Niko Haen time to throw in the pocket, something he did not have the last two weeks in losses to Centennial and Sunrise Mountain.

“When we have some time to throw… they kind of show their true talents out there,” Pieri said. “…Whenever he’s not under duress, he’s a pretty damn good quarterback. Obviously, David can get open at any time as long as we get some time to throw. He’s got real clean hands, good route running. He makes some big plays. So, you know, they grew up together. They know each other in and out, so, the connection’s there.”

Without its regular starter, junior William Haskell, who missed the game due to injury, Ironwood (5-4, 1-3) came out swinging with junior backup quarterback Charlie Wingfield. In the game’s first play from scrimmage, Wingfield took a shot deep down the sideline, but the pass was intercepted by Sunnyslope junior Spencer Hochstein.

Pieri said Hochstein had been beat on a deep pass the week prior in a loss to Sunrise Mountain, but was ready to be tested this time.

“I explained to him before the game, ‘They’re going to see that on film. They’re going to try to test you and test you early.’ And so sure enough, it was the very first play,” Pieri said.

After Hochstein’s interception, the Eagles dialed back their passing game, only throwing eight more times the rest of the game. Wingfield completed three of those passes for just four yards.

Instead, Ironwood relied on its run game to move the ball, with little success early. The Eagles netted just two rushing yards on six attempts on their first four drives, but finally found success in the second quarter.

On its fifth drive, the Ironwood offense travelled 74 yards — all on the ground — for a score to cut Sunnyslope’s lead to 20-7.

“We didn’t miss many assignments up front, and the running backs just came out and decided to run pretty hard. So, that’s something to build off of and be proud of,” Ironwood coach Chris Rizzo said.

It looked for a moment as though the offense might have found its rhythm without Haskell, but the Eagles weren’t able to recreate that drive’s success the rest of the game couldn’t mount any type of comeback.

Ironwood averaged 8.2 yards per carry on its nine rushing attempts during the second-quarter scoring drive. Excluding that drive, the Eagles averaged 1.4 yards per carry on the night.

Though Wingfield did little through the air, he led the Eagles with 55 rushing yards on 10 carries, including a 15-yard touchdown run to cap the 74-yard second-quarter drive.

Junior running back Brady O’Quinn added 43 yards on nine carries, and junior Elijah Sanders had 25 yards on six carries along with six receiving yards on two catches.

After the game, Rizzo told his players that the offense’s success shouldn’t rely on any one player.

“One guy, in terms of Will, doesn’t make or break an offense,” he said. “(It was) just a rallying cry for all of our other players to try and step up and make their game the best that they possibly can.”

Senior running back Dennis Decker added the Eagles’ second score with a 6-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. The score was set up by a defensive fumble recovery by Nehemiah Lindo to start the Ironwood drive six yards from the end zone.

Rizzo said his team started to play looser late in the game. It resulted in holding the Vikings scoreless on their final four drives. He talked to his players afterward about extending that type of play across four quarter.

“They’re teenage boys, and so they play so much looser when there’s not that much at stake,” Rizzo said. “You know, you hate to get to that point where you’re down 43-14 for kids to start playing a little bit looser, but we’ve just got to try and find a way to channel that early on in the game.”

After the opening interception the Ironwood defense forced a three-and-out on Sunnyslope’s first drive. The Eagles couldn’t continue the success, however, as the Vikings scored on their next seven drives after that.

Outside of the Haen brothers, Sunnyslope’s biggest offensive threats were sophomore running back Xander Georgoulis, who ran for 56 yards on 10 carries and had one catch for 15 yards, and senior running back Calvin Graef, who ran for 45 yards on seven carries and caught one pass for 9 yards.

Niko Haen’s first two touchdown passes were two his brother. He later connected with senior receiver Josh Lang and junior receiver David Sing for scores. Senior running back Amarion Willis also had a 16-yard touchdown run for the Vikings.

Both teams will look to finish the regular season at 6-4 with a win next week. Ironwood hosts Kellis (1-8, 0-4) and Sunnyslope hosts Apollo (2-7, 1-3). Both will be eyeing a spot among the lower seeds of the 5A playoffs.

“We just want to finish on a really, really high note. You know, the computer’s going to spit out whatever numbers…” Rizzo said about the playoff ranking system. “We just want to finish with a win on senior night at home, control what we can control, and just put a really, really nice last week together in the regular season.”

Sunnyslope will likely have to face its rival Apollo next week without Georgoulis. The sophomore was ejected on a dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, his first of the game, late in the first quarter. The ejection means Georgoulis will also be suspended for the next game, though Pieri plans to appeal the ruling.

Georgoulis did not throw a punch on the play — an offense that warrants automatic ejection by rule. Pieri said all he saw was Georgoulis approach an Ironwood player after the whistle.

“If he’s saying something, throw the flag,” Pieri said. “Give him 15 yards, but taking away a full game from a kid is ridiculous.”