Canyon View flag football trio causes trouble for Arizona foes

By Richard Smith
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The Arizona Interscholastic Association's first official season of flag football in 2023 created a new galaxy of stars.

Three of them returned for 5A runner up Canyon View with more skill, more fitness and a singular mission to make their opportunity for a state title count.

Seniors Maycie Bassett, Katelyn Jewell and Makenzie Pope are now two games away from their goal, and hosting a semifinal tonight against Gilbert Campo Verde, the team that upset the Jaguars' in last year's 2023 title game.

“When you consider Katelyn and Makenzie on offense are two of the best players in the state. Then you flip to the other side of the ball and you have a Maycie and Makenzie combo ... I’ve gone on record, biased or not, that Makenzie is the best two-way player in the state. When you have that three-headed monster, you get no relief,” Canyon View Coach Michael Beal said. “You take Maycie’s football IQ and ability to put pressure on the quarterback ... she’s got six interceptions herself. She’s leading the two rushers and is a coach on the field. Then you put the ball in the air and have Mackenzie ball hawking back there and tutoring Kaylani (Tucker), and she’s got eight interceptions.”

Quarterback Jewell gained the lion's share of attention last year, as the owner of the best deep pass in Arizona flag football.

She completed 76 percent of her passes for 3,649 yards and 55 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2023. She's at 69 percent completions 3,667 yards, 60 touchdowns and six interceptions this seasons.

And she's well aware that none of it matters in the final two rounds.

“We learned a valuable lesson last year and I think we’ve carried that with us the entire season,” Jewell said.

Canyon View did not get caught looking ahead to the playoffs this season. The Jaguars finished 11-1 with the only loss to undefeated 6A top seed Hamilton by a 17-7 score in Chandler.

No team in the state came closer to beating the Huskies.

“Last year all three of us came into the season with no recognition at all, so it was more like proving ourselves. This year we had a status to maintain,” Jewell said. “We had to grow a lot mentally to handle that.”

In 5A, the Jaguars get their opponent's best shot. Desert Edge held Canyon View to a 12-0 win Sept. 24.

Other 5A teams could not come close until the final game, though it wasn't for a lack of effort.

“They come out super aggressive. It’s like we’re being attacked out there,” Pope said.

To end the season, Beal helped schedule a game at Campo Verde.

Players also figured it was better to play and get it out in the open following the Coyotes' 14-13 surprise title win and large crop of playmakers returning.

“The whole season, everybody was talking about that game,” Bassett said.

This time the Jaguars handled adversity head on. Campo Verde wiped out an early lead wit two touchdowns soon before halftime.

Tied at 14, Canyon View took over the second half to win 28-17 in Gilbert Nov. 7.

“This was about you need to know and Campo needs to know this is not the team from last year. We wanted to specifically go to their field and show ourselves that we can go to foreign territory. When we practice, execute and perform in preparation and translates to the field. We gave up those two touchdowns before halftime and it was 14-14. The message was, ‘we’ve been here before. We’re fine.’ There was no finger pointing or hanging of heads,” Beal said.

Most teams have improved with more knowledge of the game in year two.

A more knowledgable trio of Bassett, Jewell and Pope has been a catalyst, and as Beal said, they're passing it on to younger teammates.

“Last year I was just running a play. This year, I’m calling audibles and I’m reading the defense. That makes it a lot harder for the defenses,” Jewell said. “And my mental approach, being a leader and uplifting the team. Taking on that role is what I’ve improved in the most.”

Pope may be the most indispensable of the three. In only her second year of the sport, she caught 71 passes for 1,038 yards and 26 touchdowns, plus seven interceptions and 22 tackles.

“I understand my reads better, when to jump the route and when not to,” Pope said.

She also teaches junior leading receiver Arri Richardson, a first-year player with 100 catches for 1,061 yards and  12 touchdowns.

Bassett has seven sacks and six interceptions for a team-high 156 return yards, including one for a touchdown.

“Those three are not captains because they’ve been in the program the longest. They’re not captains because they have the best stats. They’re teachers,” Beal said. “They’re 100% teachers on the field and they take it seriously. Last week they called a players only meeting, not for any issue, but to get everybody on the same page and say what do we want out of the season?”

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.