Glendale Prep’s defense led the Griffins to a 54-24 victory over Highland Prep Oct. 6 in Surprise.

With two games left, Glendale Prep (6-2) continues its push for its first 2A playoff berth since 2020. The Griffins entered Friday as the first team out at #17.

“This was really big for us,” Glendale Prep head coach Robert Addicott said, “It helps in our region and it sets the rest of the season for us. We have two tough games coming up. It’s a good win tonight and was huge to set the standard.”

The Griffins’ opening drive ended with a rushing touchdown by Glendale Prep sophomore quarterback Joshua McHale. The extra point was blocked, but the Honey Badgers (2-5) were called for holding on the extra point attempt, which led to the Griffins scoring a two-point conversion. The Griffins led 8-0 in the first quarter.

The Honey Badgers answered with a touchdown from junior quarterback Gil Camacho to junior running back Aeden Calini. Highland Prep converted its two-point conversion and tied the game 8-8.

Yet, McHale threw another touchdown to senior running back Nickolas Cummings before the end of the first quarter for a 15-8 Griffins lead.

Glendale Prep’s defense shined in the second quarter. They made crucial stops and tackles to halt the Honey Badgers’ momentum.

Highland Prep was unable to score in the first half after the Calini touchdown.

“We were physical. We saw that they were going to pass on us,” McHale said, “We have an amazing pass defense. They stepped it up with physicality.”

Before the end of the half, the Griffins scored three more touchdowns with one having a blocked extra point and led 35-8 at the break. The Honey Badgers had opportunities to score in the second quarter, but the Griffin’s defense shut them down and forced incomplete passes.

“We figured out who their targets were,” Addicott said, “We have a talented defensive back so they adjusted to it.”

Not only did the Griffin’s defense shine Friday night, McHale and Cummings were the star duo on the offensive side. 

McHale threw for 116 yards, eight completions and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 55 yards and scored a touchdown. Cummings had 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 

“When we got the ball in our hands, that’s when we thrive,” Cummings said, “So we just got to stop the offense and move on. We put points on the board and we win games. That’s what we do.”

The Honey Badgers hoped to start the second half with a scoring drive. Instead, they lost the ball during kickoff which led to the Griffins recovering the ball.

Glendale Prep immediately scored a touchdown from Cummings and started the second half 42-8. 

“I attribute it to my offensive line because they’re the ones blocking for me and for my quarterback Josh for making his great reads,” Cummings said. “We took advantage of their weakness.”

It was Highland Prep’s turn to cut the lead after losing possession during kickoff. Glendale Prep’s defense didn’t make it easy, yet the Honey Badger’s were able to convert fourth and third downs when needed.

That led to another Calini touchdown in the third quarter. With a successful two-point conversion, the Honey Badgers cut the lead to 42-16.

However Highland Prep’s excitement was short-lived as McHale threw for two more touchdowns, making the score 54-16. The Griffins did not earn the extra points for both touchdowns.

After playing from behind the entire game, the Honey Badgers were not finished. With less than a minute left to play, Camacho passed to Calini, who ran for a touchdown. With another successful two-point conversion, the final score was 54-24.

“It was good,” Highland Prep’s head coach Jason Shaw said, “It was good to see us not rolling over and playing until the last whistle.”

Highland Prep’s inability to convert downs, stopping Glendale’s offense, and penalties prevented them from playing spoiler.

“Shooting yourself in the foot. You try to get some momentum going and then you know, it kind of stops when penalties happen,” Shaw said. “We just tried to attack the space they’re [Glendale Prep] given us, trying to make adjustments on the fly, get feedback from our players as to what worked and wasn’t working.”

Glendale Prep has a bye next week before resuming its playoff push at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 at home against Tucson Tanque Verde while Highland Prep plays Kingman Academy at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12 in Kingman.