No.2 Paradise Valley fought off a scrappy Tucson Catalina Foothills team to move on to the second round of the state playoffs by beating the No.14 Falcons 21-7 in a 4A-I matchup in Paradise Valley Friday night.
The Falcons (6-5) started the game by putting together a 16-play drive running right at the Trojans’ defense. However, it ended with a 32-yard field goal attempt that missed.
The Trojans (9-2) responded with a 12-play drive that resulted in an 8-yard touchdown run by Tyree Parker. That seemed to ignite the Trojans’ defense as they took control of the game and slowed the Falcons’ offense to a crawl.
The Falcons’ only scoring drive started at the Trojans’ 25-yard line following an interception of Kevin Spain. They needed only five plays to punch it in and keep the game close.
The Trojans’ defense came up huge in the fourth quarter when the game was still up for grabs. First, the Trojans sacked Falcons quarterback Adam Larriva on consecutive plays to kill a promising possession by the Falcons. Then with under two minutes left in the game, the defense turned the Falcons away on downs deep in Trojans territory to seal the win.
