By Mason Byers
Staff Writer
The 2024 Pusch Ridge football team will go down as a dominant one.
The 3A championship game was between the two-seeded ALA West Foothills and the fourth-seeded Pusch Ridge. The Pusch Ridge Lions ended up taking the win 26-7 over the ALA West Foothills Guardians to be crowned the new 3A champions.
At the beginning of the game, both teams kept getting defensive stops until the Guardians struck first. Late in the first quarter sophomore wide receiver Amr Hassan came down with an absurd 28-yard catch. That catch would eventually lead to junior quarterback for ALA West Foothills, Hudson Mitton, to score an 11-yard rushing touchdown.
The Guardians took their first and only lead of the game, as throughout the rest of the contest it was all Pusch Ridge.
In the second quarter the Lions offense came alive as a senior wide receiver, Elliot Lovett, snagged a 32-yard pass from senior quarterback Jacob Newborn. Newborn would then find himself calling his own number and scoring a 4-yard rushing touchdown.
Newborn is a senior who wrapped up his final high school game on top, but he also knows he’s not guaranteed to play again which is why he fought for every yard this game.
“I’m not guaranteed to play another game of football,” Newborn said. “I just want to put my body on the line for the team, I love these guys.”
The Lions kept rolling as a team as Lovett got an interception for Pusch Ridge not long after their scoring drive. They couldn’t score a touchdown on their next drive as they had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by senior kicker Tyler Nolan.
Defense was a key for Pusch Ridge this game as they kept causing chaos and turnovers. Late in the second quarter junior defensive lineman Logan Carey recovered a fumble for the Lions. They made sure to score a touchdown off this turnover though.
The Lions handed the ball off to senior running back Blake Reed, the ball ended up being fumbled into the endzone but senior offensive lineman Noah Morrison was able to fall onto the ball and give Pusch Ridge a nine-point lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Lions kept applying the pressure.
After multiple defensive stops by both teams, Pusch Ridge once again found a way to extend their lead. Junior wide receiver for the Lions Nate Campa had a 30-yard catch and run that led to a 33-yard field goal by Nolan.
Pusch Ridge wasn’t satisfied with their lead though and marched down the field one last time in the fourth quarter. It was scored by Newborn once again on the 1-yard line after he put his head down and pushed his way over the goal line.
The head coach for Pusch Ridge, Kent Middleton, understands the importance of Newborn for his program.
“Jacob is strong and he’s tough,” Middleton said. “One of the best leaders I’ve been around, and I’ve been doing this for 37 years.”
The final dagger of the game came when senior defensive back John Sunukjian came down with the interception to seal an almost flawless defensive game for Pusch Ridge.
Sunukjian who is also a senior was happy to cap off his career with a state championship win.
“Best feeling ever,” Sunukjian said. “Couldn’t have ended any better, glad we got to do this extra four weeks with all my guys, dream come true.”
After a long season that started back during the summer, Pusch Ridge ended up being the last one on top in the 3A conference. They claimed their second state championship after their first one came nine years ago in 2015.
Middleton can see the difference between his team now and back when the season first started, and he will never forget his 2024 team.
“I love these guys, they’re fun to be around,” Middleton said. “We’ve come together all year long, I’m so proud of them.”
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