Brad Cesmat
After all of the angst, high school football finally happened Friday night. Yes, not everything was business as usual when it came to fans in the stands and everything else that goes with high school football.
I started at Hamilton, where they got homecoming out of the way in case COVID-19 wreaked havoc later in the season. On the field, the Huskies were no match for Centennial. I was on to the next game when it was 14-0.
.@MarchiolNicco can’t handle the snap, improvises and finds the end zone to make it a 34-0 lead for Hamilton at halftime.#FridayNight360AZ pic.twitter.com/LvHVHmYAxc
— Jordan Hamm (@JordyHamm) October 3, 2020
Next stop was Perry, where the Pumas got into a shootout with Queen Creek. I was on the Bulldog sideline long enough to see quarterback Devon Brown drop a dime for a touchdown on the final play of the first half for a 21-14 lead. The road team would end up winning 35-28.
FINAL: @QC_football 35, Perry 28
Great game tonight in week one. Here was the game-winning touchdown pass from @dbrownqb33 to @Colbygarvin2 in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter! #FridayNight360AZ pic.twitter.com/IYmw1FUTK8
— Sports360AZ (@Sports360AZ) October 3, 2020
I made it to the Casteel vs. Boulder Creek game at the end of halftime. Boulder Creek has a terrific tandem of quarterback Bear Milacek and running back Jacob Cisneros. The Jags were up 35-15 in the 3rd quarter, only to see the Colts come storming back led by their defense shutting down BC the final quarter and a half.
TD @CasteelFootball 35-29 @BCJagsFootball 11:34 4th Q. #FridayNight360AZ pic.twitter.com/uqYacEi1E6
— Sports360AZ (@Sports360AZ) October 3, 2020
It was great to storm the sidelines and see people who I hadn’t come in contact with for months during the COVID-19 crisis. I hadn’t seen Jordan Hamm from our staff in person since June when we did a video shoot together.
Dick Banzieski (Bano), Kevin McCabe, Haley Stesiak from COX 7, AIA Executive Director David Hines, John Gustafson (Gus) from 3TV, Chilly and Andy Silvas from Arizona Varsity, and Marcus Williams from CUSD were some of the conversations I was able to have during the night.
I was able to listen to Devon Henry from our team call the Chandler vs. Liberty game while I was driving from game-to-game. It was just nice to get out and be part of the high school community. Friday nights are just better when I’m out stormin’ some sidelines and catching up with people that truly do love the game.
