By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

CHANDLER — Mike Spencer felt like the Estrella Foothills team he coaches should have been a playoff team in 2023.

The Wolves got into the 4A playoffs this year as No. 15 seed. Though they bowed out in the first round with a 37-14 loss Nov. 15 on the home field of the 4A No. 2 seed, Arizona College Prep, younger EFHS players can take with them valuable lessons about what playoff football is like.

“We got a core of linebackers and other guys coming back,” Spencer said. “It was really nice to see some underclassmen step up and show some leadership tonight.”

The No. 15-seed Wolves end the season with an 8-3 record and a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 They also will go into 2025 as two-time region champions and possibly with some momentum.

Arizona College Prep (10-1) celebrated their first playoff win at Dr. Fred DePrez Field in school history by beating the Wolves. The Knights advanced to host No. 7 Arcadia the weekend of Nov. 22 in the quarterfinals.

The Wolves scored first in the playoff tilt on the same field where the host Knights handed them a 62-28 drubbing during the regular season on Sept. 13. EFHS went for an onside kick to start the game and recovered it. Though their first drive ended with the first of quarterback Hone Wray’s three interceptions, field position and solid defense allowed the Wolves to score late in the first quarter.

Wray escaped a sack and found fellow EFHS senior P.J. Bailey in the back corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Arizona College Prep started to take over from that point onward, it seemed. The Knights went 64 yards and scored on the second play of the second quarter on a 7-yard run by Martin Sasso.

“You just can’t make that many mistakes against a fast, physical team like that,” Spencer said. “You really put yourselves behind the 8-ball that way.”

Sasso had 41 of ACP’s 208 rushing yards on the night, which equaled Estrella Foothills’ entire rushing yardage as a team.

ACP then continued to pin the Wolves deep in their own end with solid kickoffs and coverage. The Wolves would only start one possession beyond their own 18 the rest of the game.

A short punt set up ACP for a Reid Martinelli 36-yard field goal. Another short drive was capped by ACP quarterback Evan Heinrich hitting Kash Lambert with a 41-yard rainbow, in stride, along the left sideline for a score.

A hurry-up drive at the end of the half ended with Martinelli attempting a 49-yard field goal that was just short of the left upright. The Wolves trailed 17-7 at halftime.

The Wolves lost Bailey, their main receiver, late in the second quarter when he aggravated a shoulder injury while leaping for a pass and colliding with a defender. He didn’t return to the game.
“That hurt, a lot,” Spencer said. “He’s one of our biggest playmakers. We had to really fight, scratch and claw from there.”

Estrella Foothills seniors P.J. Bailey, right, and Jacob Rawls, celebrate after Bailey’s first-quarter touchdown against Arizona College Prep in a Nov. 15 4A first-round playoff game. Bailey left in the second quarter with an injury in the 37-14 EFHS loss.

Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks

The ACP defense dominated even more in the second half and the Knights’ offensive line created big holes as the hosts scored three more times and rushed for a total of 208 yards.

Heinrich was 10-of-15 passing for 145 yards and no interceptions for ACP.

Wray led the Wolves on a short scoring drive in the fourth quarter, capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Rawls. Wray was 14-of-26 passing for 128 yards for the Wolves.

Leading rusher A.J. Horne only had seven carries, but had a team-high 41 yards on the ground in his final game for EFHS. Rawls, a junior, caught six passes for 69 yards.

“I thought Estrella Foothills had a great gameplan,” ACP coach Steve Vaught said. “They played their tails off and really made us work for it. That was the first time we’d trail against an Arizona opponent all year. I feel we’re capable of winning lots of styles and types of football games, including this kind of grind-it-out type.”

Friday, Nov. 15
4A playoffs — first round
ARIZONA COLLEGE PREP 37, ESTRELLA FOOTHILLS 14
EF 7 0 0 7— 14
ACP 0 17 13 7— 37
Scoring: EF, 2:30 1Q, Hone Wray 9 pass to P.J. Bailey (Gavin Knebel kick); ACP, 11:26 2Q, Max Sasso 7 run (Reid Martinelli kick); ACP, 5:09 2Q; Martinelli 36 FG; ACP, 2:27 2Q, Evan Heinrich 41 pass to Kash Lambert (Martinelli kick); ACP, 8:12 3Q, Tyler Lowder 12 run (Martinelli kick); ACP, 5:22 3Q, Alec Grant 9 run (kick wide left); ACP, 11:53 4Q, Ethan Kim 5 run (Martinelli kick);EF, 9:09 4Q, Wray 9 pass to Jacob Rawls (Knebel kick).
Team statistics
Rushes-Yards: EF 13-41; ACP 40-208. Passing: EF 14-27-3—128; ACP 10-15-0—145. Total Off: EF 169; ACP 353. 1st Downs: EF 10; ACP 18. Pen.-Yds.: EF 8-45; ACP 7-70. Fumbles-lost: EF 1-0; ACP 0-0. Punts-Avg.: EF 4-30.25; ACP 1-25.0. Rec.: EF 8-3; ACP 10-1.

Jason W. Brooks
Associate Editor

Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.

He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.

Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.