Ava Lumbatis is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover McClintock High School for AZPreps365.com

Undefeated McClintock advanced to 8-0 with a 41-28 5A San Tan Region victory in its home game against Sunnyslope on Friday night. 

A hard fought victory is one way to describe the game that challenged the Chargers to their closest score of the season with a 13-point differential. Both teams' offenses and defenses went head-to-head to battle it out in the well-matched game.

McClintock’s defense was strong Friday night by forcing six turnovers with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“We are definitely pleased with what our kids came out with and played at the top of their shoulder pads for four full quarters, great effort getting everybody the ball and in the play. We are happy with what we did tonight,” said defensive coach Mike Sanchez. 

This strong game caused multiple players injuries, such as wide receivers Amari Scroggins and Kemon Jackson, who were able to push through the pain and make huge plays. Jackson had three touchdowns, Scroggins had two and Khalil Bender had one. 

“My motivation is my mom, my mom used to say there’s a difference between hurt and injured," Jackson said. "If you're injured you can’t play and if you're hurt push yourself and fight through.”

The Chargers defense was imperative to the outcome of the game, holding Sunnyslope to four touchdowns.

Linebacker Julius Fuentes, who recently recovered from an injury, was a standout player in the showdown against the Vikings. The Vikings offense had some unexpected plays that gave McClintock a real challenge to overcome. 

“They ran a lot, a lot more than usual, it was painful not gonna lie, but we filled the holes and did our thing,” Fuentes said. 

Although it was a hard game McClintock was not blindsided by the pressure Sunnyslope was able to apply to the team. The coaches had been preparing them for this fierce competitor well in advance. Last year the Chargers lost to the Vikings 45-35.

“I figured that it was gonna be a tough game because they don’t really go down for nobody, but I believed in our team to get us through it,” said Scroggins. 

Homecoming was a big game for the McClintock players, the stands were packed with students, parents and alumni, morale was up and the players were excited to show the fans what they are made of against a good opponent.

At halftime Scroggins made an appearance to accept his crown for being named Homecoming King. Like any football team, they wanted to win the homecoming game and knew what they needed to do in order to get the win. 

This was not the only big game for the Chargers, next week they play Campo Verde for Senior Night and with playoffs on the horizon the team is preparing by watching film, practicing hard and staying healthy. 

“Next week we got Campo Verde for our Senior Night so we are looking to bring this energy over from Homecoming, play with the same mindset and go into playoffs. Everyone has been doubting us so we gotta prove a point,” said Scroggins.

Looking forward, McClintock (8-0) has a home game against Campo Verde (5-3) on Friday at 7 p.m.