Red Mountain outlasts Downey for Arizona Honor Bowl championship

By Zach Alvira

Head of Content

Red Mountain wide receiver Bode Wagner celebrates a touchdown with Jackson Bogle against Downey in the Honor Bowl Friday night. (JJ Digos/Contributor)

Red Mountain needed an answer defensively. 

The Mountain Lions had gone toe-to-toe with Downey and three-star Purdue commit Oscar Rios for three-and-a-half quarters of Friday night’s Arizona Honor Bowl. The Mountain Lions held a two-point lead midway through the fourth, but Rios and the Vikings had the ball just before midfield. 

All game long Rios had gashed Red Mountain with deep passes to his speedy wideouts. When he wasn’t going deep, screen passes kept drives alive. But finally, after near misses and several misreads, Red Mountain defensive back Tyreke Cornett jumped the pass. 

The result: a 45-yard interception house call and ultimately, a 35-32 win over Downey in the Honor Bowl. 

"I knew I had to get it back. I let up a couple plays, but I never keep my head down," Cornett said. "I had my team behind me to pick me up. I saw that screen coming, picked it, took it to the crib. It's great."

The two teams went back-and-forth from the start. 

Red Mountain’s first offensive possession started at the Downey 35 and ended in four plays, as Jackson Bogle found pay dirt from 8 yards out for the first score of the game. 

Downey responded on their next drive, however, as Rios led the Vikings down the field. Running back Bernardo Blanco capped it off with a 1-yard score. The teams traded blows from there. 

Bode Wagner took the direct snap for Red Mountain 15 yards for a touchdown. Downey answered with a 37-yard pass from Rios to Damani Porras. Rios gave his team the lead on the next series with a 52-yard bomb to Caleb Juregui. But Red Mountain answered with a 32-yard pass from Simon Lopez to Wagner. 

It was the first time all season Red Mountain’s halftime lead was less than three scores. Head coach Kyle Enders told his team this would be a test to show what this team was truly made of. 

The Mountain Lions answered the call. 

Red Mountain knocked off Downey in the Honor Bowl. (JJ Digos/Contributor)

"Big plays on their end, we turned the ball over, lots of penalties. Us getting tested and the adversity we went through, I'm real proud of my team," Enders said. "But we have a lot to clean up going into region play."

Red Mountain’s first and only offensive touchdown of the second half came midway through the third when Lopez connected with Andrew Schmier for a 45-yards touchdown. 

Again, Downey answered behind the arm of Rios. He found Jaden Thomas for a 35-yards touchdown. Rios scored once more, a 9-yard run with just seconds remaining. However that came after the two interceptions, one of which to Cornett for the Red Mountain touchdown. 

Rios finished unofficially 18-of-32 for 335 yards, two interceptions and four total touchdowns against Red Mountain. He also added 99 yards on the ground. 

Juregui caught five passes for 103 yards and a touchdown while Porras hauled in three of his own for 89 yards and a score. 

Even with the high offensive output by the Vikings, Red Mountain’s defense held strong. That unit has been the bread and butter for the Mountain Lions for years, flanked by good linebacker play and a solid defensive line rotation. The secondary held its own despite getting beat at times on deep balls. But where the defense lacked, the offense made up for it. 

"We knew it was going to be a lot harder game than the past couple games," Wagner said. "The mentality of our team ... we had to come in with a little different mentality. We knew we had to play all the way to the end."

Lopez completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Wagner, his top target, caught seven passes for 144 yards and a score. He also added 31 yards on the ground and ran a kickoff back for a touchdown before a holding penalty negated it. 

Penalties marred both teams and the flow of the game. Multiple unsportsmanlike penalties were assessed to both teams in both halves. At one point, Enders called a timeout to huddle up his team just off the sideline. 

The two teams combined for nearly 20 penalties, with others offsetting. Four unsportsmanlike penalties were issued in the final minutes, including one while a Downey player lay injured on the field. 

Through all the adversity, Red Mountain rose to the occasion, making a statement in the process. The Mountain Lions will undoubtedly face more tests in region play. But for now, they’re in the conversation as title contenders. 

And they now have a second Honor Bowl trophy to prove it. 

"We made plays late when we needed to," Enders said. "This is a cool thing, a great experience for the kids. It's nice to have another Honor Bowl trophy."