When Red Mountain lost its last five regular season games, it was also finding its offensive identity.

Now it’s paying off.

Thanks in part to a player still new to the program, the Mountain Lions (6-6) find themselves in a familiar spot tonight—the 6A semifinals— against a familiar playoff opponent—Brophy Prep (10-2).

Running back Isaiah Savoie is a big reason Red Mountain is one more win away from the big dance at the Stadium formerly known as Sun Devil (Mountain America Stadium).

In seven games, Savoie has given coach Kyle Enders squad a productive, stabilizing force which has rubbed off on the entire team. The senior is averaging 111 yards per game on the ground, and is capable as a receiver out of the backfield.

“Isaiah has brought the physicality and downhill run game our offense needed,” Enders says of Savoie.

“He’s also brought an edge and toughness and leadership that has slowly taken over the offense, he’s exactly what our program is about.” 

Savoie transferred from Apache Junction after the 2022 season, and was therefore not eligible until the second half of the regular season, when the schedule became brutal. The Mountain Lions battled Open teams Highland, ALA-Queen Creek and Hamilton deep into the second half, and lost to rival Mountain View in the final seconds in week 10.

But along the way, Savoie’s production provided value when it mattered most in the last two playoff games. The senior has been a workhorse for Red Mountain, helping the offense chew up big chunks of yardage and possession time, allowing the defense to stay fresh. In its first two playoff wins, Red Mountain’s defense was able to frustrate two of the state’s better quarterbacks in Mountain View’s Jack Germaine and Pinnacle’s Wyatt Horton, holding both offenses to 14 points (in regulation). Red Mountain came up with a huge stop against Pinnacle in overtime last week, forced the Pioneers to kick a field goal in OT, this allowing the offense to win on a touchdown run by Savoie.

Familiar Foes

This is the third straight year Red Mountain and Brophy have squared off in the playoffs. Last season in round one, the Broncos jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Mountain Lions came back and won a wild shootout, 45-38. In the ‘21 quarterfinals, Red Mountain pulled out a 14-13 victory. Both of those games were at Red Mountain. Tonight’s contest is at Central High School–Brophy’s home field. Kickoff is at 7pm. Brophy is led by senior quarterback Charlie McGinnis (2,459 passing yards) and a slew of talented underclassmen, including sophomore running back Harrison Chambers and sophomore defensive end Bastian Vanden Bosch.

Junior NFL

If the Vanden Bosch name sounds familiar it should. Bastian is the son of former Cardinal defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Bastian’s twin brother Case is a backup quarterback. The Brophy-Red Mountain matchup will include eight players with fathers who played in the NFL, six from Brophy and two from Red Mountain. The names are familiar, including Larry Fitzgerald’s son Devin and Todd Heap’s twin sons Preston and Kyle.