St. Mary’s Catholic High School freshman Ava Gonzales kicked the game-winning field goal, a 19-yarder with 46.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Knights a 10-7 victory over Prescott High School in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s 4A flag football state championship on Saturday. Held at Chandler High School, the win completed a perfect season for No. 1 seeded St. Mary’s at 14-0 under Head Coach Chris Horn.
The Knights got on the scoreboard first with a touchdown reception by senior wide receiver Gwen Carter in the second quarter. Prescott responded to tie the game right before halftime. After years of flag being a girls club sport, the AIA launched its first sanctioned flag football season in the fall of 2023 and this year marked the first year for Class 4A, as the division was newly added this season.
In boys gridiron action, Brophy College Preparatory has advanced to the semifinal round in Class 6A of the AIA state football championship and will face Mountain View High School of Mesa on Friday, November 29 at Central High School in Phoenix. Brophy Prep shutout Boulder Creek High School 54-0 in the opening round on November 15, and the Broncos defeated Perry High School 31-13 in the second round on November 22. The Class 6A championship game will be played on Saturday, December 7 at Mountain America Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe at 1 p.m.
Featured Image Courtesy of Lisa Soroko
