Third time not the charm for O’Connor
November 13, 2024 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365
Mountain Ridge’s first two flag regular seasons ended with region championship victories over rival Sandra Day O’Connor.
On Wednesday, the West Valley Region mates met in another meaningful matchup, the first round of the 6A state tournament. The Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions trailed for the first time at halftime this season, but the second half belonged to them in their 21-10 home win.
Freshman Allison Zeigner’s 25-yard 2nd quarter field goal has Sandra Day O’Connor up 3-0 in first round 6A playoff game at rival Mountain Ridge. Victoria Whipple collected three first half sacks for OC. Halftime pic.twitter.com/eQXqvcZWSI
— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) November 14, 2024
“I was waiting for my offense to wake up,” said Mountain Ridge coach Whitney Warmus of her 8th seeded team. “It was just weird. We went into a little trance in the first half, and everything we’ve been doing it seemed like we’ve seen none of it.”
Warmus’ defense helped her team snap out of it.
Cameron Mailloux sparked her offense with an interception on Sandra Day O’Connor’s first third quarter drive. A couple of players later, the junior followed that pick with a 30-yard pass to Emma Langer, helping set up a touchdown pass to Tahlia Hempen.
Mt. Ridge with the first TD of the game. Up 7-3 6:45 left in 3q pic.twitter.com/UBFM72LXBe
— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) November 14, 2024
Leading 7-3, Mountain Ridge linebacker Hannah Hoffart’s sack forced a turnover on downs with 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, a 25-yard catch by Hempen and 2-yard Mailloux scoring run pushed Mountain Ridge ahead 14-3.
“We are here for each other,” Mailloux said. “We are a huge family. I have to shoutout my offense. They picked me up so much. It was really a team effort.”
But 10-3 Sandra Day O’Connor didn’t throw in the towel.
Two long completions by Kylie Pruitt helped her team cap a drive with a short Ava Hannosh touchdown run. Sandra Day O’Connor then attempted an onside play but failed to convert.
Mt. Ridge with the first TD of the game. Up 7-3 6:45 left in 3q pic.twitter.com/UBFM72LXBe
— Jose E. Garcia (@AZPreps365Jose) November 14, 2024
Mailloux added the final touch with an 8-yard score, her 16th touchdown of the year. Up next for last year’s 6A runner-up is the No. 1 seed, 14-0 Hamilton, on Saturday.
Mountain Ridge (12-1) has been playing without a couple of key injured players but is still looking forward to the challenge of facing the nation’s No. 2 team, according to USA Today.
“We’ve played undefeated teams, and we have to eventually play them anyways, so I’m ready to do it now," Warmus said.
“We are ready for it. They are a great team. So I wait to see how we go against them. This is what we are here to play for. So we are excited for it.”
