Ben Munaweera is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa High School for AZPreps365.com

Mesa had an opportunity to spoil Hamilton’s senior night while placing itself on the football map, but the Jackrabbits struggled on defense Friday and lost 51-14.

From the minute the Huskies stepped onto Jerry Loper Field, they seemed ready to control the game. After a quick opening drive by the Jackrabbits, the Hamilton started in the red zone off a special teams’ miscue by the Mesa, and scored two plays later. That was only the beginning. 

Despite the score, the Huskies were barely on the field, only having had 18:01 total time of possession to Mesa’s 33:05. But when they were, they were efficient. On six of the Huskies’ nine scoring drives, they scored within three plays. The Huskies’ dominant performance was led by quarterback Beckham Pellant, who only had to throw 12 passes, but completed nine of them for 158 passing yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the help came from dominant yards after catch performances by wide receivers Legend Bernard and Dylan Lord. Each scored a pair of touchdowns.

Despite being down 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and with the Huskies at the 1-yard line, the Jackrabbits refused to go down without a fight. During the break between quarters, Mesa head coach Chad DeGrenier pulled his team aside on the sideline and gave a passionate speech. It worked. The Jackrabbits came out and made a powerful goal-line stand, holding the Huskies to a field goal. 

“There’s a lot of good moments in the game, we’ve just got to be more consistent at that,” DeGrenier said. “I’m very proud of these kids and how they fought.” 

On the ensuing drive, the Jackrabbits returned the kickoff to the 30-yard line. But penalties and a hungry Huskies defense forced the Jackrabbits to once again punt. On their next drive, the Huskies scored again, making it 31-0.

Mesa’s morale was low on the sidelines and in the stands, where fans seemed to have lost their noisy enthusiasm. But that didn’t stop the Jackrabbits from going out and playing hard. Their offense faced another third down and failed to convert but opted to go for it on fourth down anyway. Quarterback Uriel Gonzalez hit the Huskies with a hard count, and Mesa earned itself a well-fought first down. Two plays later, the Jackrabbits faced another third down. Gonzalez threw a deep ball to wide receiver Ja’Roi Hardwick. Pass interference was called on Hamilton resulting in a much-needed chunk play. 

Early in the first quarter, Hardwick had opportunities on some deep balls but had a hard time tracking the ball in the air and seemed frustrated. But that didn’t shake DeGrenier’s faith in his star wideout. Three plays later, Hardwick would snag the ball and run it in for a 59-yard touchdown. Mesa was on the board and the score was 31-7 going into the half.

“I’m grateful that he[DeGrenier] trusts me that much to go do it again, and I made it happen.” Hardwick said.

The lowlights of the night were Mesa’s struggles on defense. The Jackrabbits allowed more than 50 points for the first time this season. Their defense didn’t seem to have any answers for the Huskies’ offense all night. After Mesa outscored its previous two opponents 108-48, this definitely came as a shock. Andrew Sheridan, the Jackrabbits’ defensive coordinator, didn’t expect this outcome for his team, but he wasn’t surprised by the Huskies’ success. 

“This team has put up 70 points on other people. They’re a great team, well-coached. Sheridan said. “Our guys could’ve quit when it got down early. And we didn’t.” 

For the Jackrabbits, the night’s main takeaway was persistence.

“I was proud of them for coming out and not giving up,” Sheridan said. “I think a couple of years ago we would’ve given up. It shows the hard work of these coaches and the kids. We’re not backing down to anybody.” 

After a two-game stretch on the road, Mesa is coming home to face a divisional opponent in Tolleson on Sept. 29. The Jackrabbits know what they have to work on.