By Brittany Bowyer
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SCOTTSDALE — The Notre Dame Prep Saints advanced to 4-1 on the season Thursday night with a 33-10 victory over Campo Verde. It was a close battle until the very end, when NDP was able to run away with it. Throughout the entire game, defense shined for the Saints, playing hard until the last snap.

“I’m proud of these boys and how they played,” NDP Head Coach George Prelock said. “When it was tight, they didn’t blink, and they were able to figure it out and pull away in the second half.”

Despite nearly an hour and a half lightning delay, the Saints were able to stay locked-in and get the job done on the field. According to Prelock, the Saints are no strangers to long lightning delays. Prelock said they experienced one last season on a Thursday night when they faced Chaparral.

“Unfortunately we’ve been through this before,” Prelock said. “We were in a lightning delay and it was raining. We ended up finally having to call the game at 11:30 at night, only to come back on a Monday night at 6 p.m. and finish the game, and it was in the fourth quarter with about seven minutes left. Believe it or not, that Monday, we were in another lightning delay, so we started that game late too.”

Prelock said since most of the boys had been through this already, it mentally made it easier for the team.

“We kind of just went back to that and said, ‘Hey, remember, just maintain focus. Keep your poise. Let’s make the most of this thing?”

After anxiously awaiting to take the field, teams were finally given the thumbs up and came back out for a ten minute warm-up. Following the conclusion of warm-ups, officials conducted the coin toss and the game finally got underway.

Campo Verde got the ball first to start and was gaining momentum driving down the field, but a fumble recovered by NDP would negate their attempt at taking an early lead. With around 10:00 left in the first wuarter, the Saints took over near midfield. From there, senior QB Hunter Stine connected with both senior Jace Wright and junior Ryder Ashcraft to move the ball down the field. Handing it off to sophomore Brody Powers, he took it the rest of the distance to the goal for a touchdown. The extra point attempt by Ashcraft was good, making the score 7-0 Saints with 7:20 left in the first.

“Last week was his first week back,” Prelock said about Ashcraft. “Unfortunately in preseason he had a high ankle sprain, but he takes really good care of himself and was able to get back faster than we thought... Tonight, just really playing lights-out, not only as a receiver but also making some big-time kicks. He’s just a geat athlete and I look forward to see what he’s going to do in the future.”

“It feels great,” Ashcraft said. “I was really bummed at the start of season, just doing what I did to my foot. I came back 110-percent, had a great game last week. It was great being back with all the boys.”

On Campo’s following possession, they were able to answer with a field goal from sophomore Jaxon Dearth, cutting the Saints’ lead to 7-3 with 3:41 left in the first.

NDP got the ball back and started moving down the field, but Stine was picked off by senior Damon Romero with 11:07 remaining in the second quarter. Campo Verde took over at its own 25 yard line, where after a quick three and out the Coyotes were forced to punt.

For the Coyotes following possession, they were able to march down the field, led by senior quarterback Jonah Lubno. Passing the ball down the field, the Coyotes capped it off with a 10-yard pass from Lubno to senior Easton Bakutis to give Campo the 9-7 lead with 3:04 remaining before the half. The extra point attempt from Dearth was good, making it 10-7 Coyotes.

With time running out, NDP was able to make it all the way to the red zone before eventually having to settle on a field goal from Ashcraft. The kick was good, tying things at 10-10 going into the half.

Notre Dame Prep got the ball coming out of the half, but couldn’t find the momentum to keep moving down the field. With 8:54 left in the third, they punted the ball away to Campo, pinning the Coyotes deep in their own territory at the eight-yard-line.

After what was a quick three-and-out again for Campo, the Coyotes set up to punt the ball. However, a high snap on the punt caused the ball to go over the head of the punter and roll out the back of the end zone for a safety. With 6:30 remaining in the third, NDP had been gifted the 12-10 lead.

Campo’s following possession would see them reach the red zone before stalling out and attempting a field goal. The kick, however, was off the upright, making it no good. With 1;43 remiaining, it was still 12-10 NDP.

“When I saw that, I just thought they were losing focus,” Ashcraft said. “We built off that and we came back stronger.”

On Notre Dame’s following possession, they primarily handed the ball off to junior Austin Bush. Bush not only moved the ball down the field, but capped the drive off with a touchdown to extend the lead to 19-10 with 7:43 remaining in the game.

Campo took possession of the ball at the 32-yard-line, but it would be short lived. A fumble by the Coyotes was recovered by sophomore Brody Rutti and returned for a touchdown to extend the lead. The kick from Ashcraft was good, making it 26-10 with 6:24 remaining.

Campo’s following possession would eat up about three minutes of clock while resulting in a turnover on downs. Notre Dame Prep took over at the 41-yard-line, but it was a quick three and out for the Saints.

The Coyotes took over with 1:45 remaining at the eight-yard-line once again. The first play was a run for no gain, and on the second play of the possession, Lubno was picked off by senior Matt Higby for six. The kick from Ashcraft was good, extending the lead to 33-10 with 1:19 remaining, solidifying their win.

Following the victory, Coach Prelock praised the defense for their grit.

“My defense played lights-out,” Prelock said. “My coaching staff does a great job... They’re such good coaches. We wanted to be opportunistic, and we were opportunistic. Anytime you score two defensive touchdowns, the percentages of you winning that game rise exponentially. The fact that we were able to capitalized was just outstanding.”

“Our defense played great,” Ashcraft said. “They had a bunch of touchdowns on defense, I think that’s where most of the touchdowns were, but it’s nice having a defense that can get a stop and put us in good field position.”

Notre Dame Prep now prepares to start region play next week against the Horizon Huskies at home.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.