By Brittany Bowyer
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SCOTTSDALE — Things are continuing to click on all cylinders for the Horizon Huskies flag football team, who are currently ranked no. 1 in 5A. The Huskies played like a championship-caliber team against McClintock Tuesday night, putting up 60 on the Chargers while holding them scoreless.

It was a standout night for a number of Huskies, who all made outstanding plays to contribute to the win. Two-way players and seniors Charley Zamorano and Nikki Slager each had a stand-out game on both sides of the ball. Senior Sonja Ritter also made large contributions, along with junior Arabella Wickstrom.

“I lock in,” Slager said. “I don’t play around. I try not to celebrate too much, even though it’s fun, I try to stay locked-in until the end. You never know what can happen.”

Senior quarterback Sydney Puma also had an excellent night, passing for seven touchdowns, five two-point conversions and no interceptions.

“[Puma] had a coming out party tonight,” Head Coach Marino Lee said. “We’re excited for her. She made a lot of good reads, threw a lot of good balls. That was fun to watch.”

The Huskies got the ball to start the game and were able to score on the opening drive on a pass from Puma to Zamorano. They elected to go for two and were able to convert, as Puma found Zamorano once again in the end zone. Midway through the first quarter, the Huskies were up 8-0.

Later on in the first quarter, Horizon extended the lead on a pass from Puma to Slager. Lee once again elected to have his team go for two, but they couldn’t convert this time, making it 13-0 Horizon.

To start the second quarter, Slager was able to get to McClintock’s quarterback in the end zone for a safety, extending the lead.

After getting the ball back, it took little time for the Huskies to strike, as Puma was able to find Ritter for a touchdown. The Huskies again elected to go for two, but couldn’t convert, making it 22-0 Horizon with 10:28 left before the half.

On McClintock’s following drive, the Chargers were picked off by Wickstrom with 10:15 remaining in the first half. Puma continued slinging the ball to her favorite targets, as she found Zamorano for another six and Slager for two to make it 30-0 with 8:17 remaining before the half.

Horizon was able to tack on one more touchdown before halftime, as Puma found Zamorano once again in the end zone with around 1:30 left to play. The Huskies went for two but struggled to convert, making it 36-0 going into the break.

Coming out of the half, Zamorano had a pick on the first play of McClintock’s drive. Unfortunately for Horizon, the Huskies wouldn’t be able to do anything with the possession. McClintock’s following possession would result in the Chargers punting the ball back, which was fielded by Zamorano and handed off to Slager for a touchdown. They elected to go for two and were able to convert on a pass from Puma to Zamorano, making it 44-0 with around 5:15 remaining in the third quarter.

“They’re both big, important pieces to what we do here on offense and defense,” Lee said of Zamorano and Slager. “But we’re just worried about how many wins we have in the win column. We’re not worried about who gets the stats.”

With around 7:00 left in the third quarter, Horizon was able to strike once again on a pass from Puma to Slager, who cut her way through defenders to reach the endzone. Once again going for two, the Huskies converted on a pass from Puma to Wickstrom. Horizon now was leading 52-0.

Despite having a running clock, the Huskies were still able to score one last touchdown before the end of the game. On the first snap of their following drive, the Huskies scored on a pass from Puma to Ritter. They again went for two, where Puma was able to connect with Wickstrom once again for a completed pass. With time running out, they pushed the lead to 60-0.

“[Wickstrom] does a lot for us that doesn’t show up in the box score,” Lee said. “Center is important, because it gets the ball to the quarterback for her to make a good throw. She plays safety. Hopefully our safteys don’t have to pull too many flags, they bat a lot of balls down and maybe come up with a couple interceptions, but she does a lot that doesn’t end up in the box score. She’s also our kicker. I know we went for two every time tonight, but she’s hit a 35-yarder earlier this season so she’s big for what we do.”

For players like Slager, having the stamina to stay out on the field and continue making plays comes from her basketball training in the offseason.

“Honestly I’m used to it,” Slager said. “I play basketball for varsity. I’m a point guard, so I’ve been used to this. It just comes natural.”

Overall for the Huskies, it was a great opportunity to continue learning and cleaning things up before getting to the back half of the season and playoffs.

“We just take it one game at a time,” Lee said. “We’re going to face a tougher opponents, so it’s nice to come out here and have a little bit of fun. But everything’s about getting better for teams that are gonna be down the road.”

When speaking with Coach Lee after the game, the news of being ranked at the top came as a surprise to both him and his team.

“I didn’t know until right at the beginning, at the start of the game,” Slager said. “I’m not wowed, I’’m more like, ‘We did it.’ But I knew we had it in us. We’re a strong team. We’re new, but we’re strong.”

“We didn’t even know we were number one,” Lee said. “We don’t look at that stuff. All that matters is where we are on Nov. 8.”

Nov. 8 is the date the brackets come out for the playoffs. Playoff games for the girls flag football season begin on Nov. 10.

Brittany Bowyer is a Report for America corps member, covering sports for Independent Newsmedia in Arizona. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.