Marco Piombi is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Goodyear High School for AZPreps365.com

The Millennium Tigers defeated the Goodyear Mavericks 6-0 in flag football Tuesday night at Goodyear High School. 

Millennium had prime field position all game, and kicker Sophia Matthews-Ruiz made a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to make it 3-0 Tigers. She made another one in the final minute of regulation to double the lead.

Goodyear head coach Robynn Lee said the Mavericks’ defense was “lights out.”

“Our safeties were stepping up big,” Lee said. “Our rushers were putting pressure on them, so I was really proud of them.”

The Goodyear defense was tested almost immediately due to an interception that happened on the second play of the game, but it eventually led to a fourth down stop.

The Mavericks also managed to make a goal-line stand with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left in the third quarter thanks to Lydia Karge grabbing the flag at the last second.

“You really want to trust your team and believe in yourself to get that flag,” Karge said.

Offensively, the Mavericks struggled to get the ball into the Tigers’ side of the field. They made things interesting at the end when Larai Chacon managed to get free and ran for 27 yards with 18 seconds left in the game to give Goodyear a slim chance.

“At practice, we work a lot,” Chacon said. “I’m moving my hips, getting past, and playing until the whistle.”

Lee said she believes her team showed flashes of eliminating the freshman mindset, but there were still times when they had that mental block of going back into it.

“Once we can stop that, I think it’s lights out like that,” Lee said. “There’s not going to be another team that we play against that can stop them once they have that belief in themselves.”

On the other side, the Millennium defense stepped up to earn the shutout win. Asali Young managed to get a sack with a couple of seconds left, and the game ended on an incomplete pass the next play. 

Goodyear athletic director Jason Linn said he believes that Millennium and Goodyear could be a rivalry in the future. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Linn said. “I think anytime you get city schools and district schools, we like to have fun and make it rivals.”

The Mavericks have one more game left in their inaugural season for flag football, and Lee wants to see a few things from her team before the end the season.

“I want them to be resilient, but most of all, I want them to have fun,” Lee said. “I want them to remember why they play the game, who they are playing the game for, and to go out and be the athletes they want little kids to aspire to become.”

Goodyear will play at 6 p.m. tonight at home against Estrella Foothills in a game that was not initially on the schedule. The game was originally supposed to be a make-up game against Eastmark, which was cancelled on October 23 because of a power outage. But it was cancelled again due to transportation issues.

Millennium will play its next game on November 4 against Marana at Marana High School.