The high school football squad began the 2021 season on a high note, besting Arizona Leadership Academy Ironwood (ALAI) on the road by a score of 35-12 on Friday, Aug. 27.

With neither team finding the end zone in the first quarter of play, the Falcons moved ahead 7-0 early on in the second. ALAI answered back that same quarter, making the game 7-6, which is when the Falcons decided to create some additional breathing room on the scoreboard.

Fountain Hills moved ahead 14-6 before halftime, then came back in the third to score another 14 unanswered points. Outpacing ALAI 7-6 in the fourth, the Falcons had little trouble keeping their advantage to earn a win in the season opener.

“I’m really, really proud of how our boys rose to the challenge after having a week off and no scrimmage,” said head coach Jimmy Curtis. “There are a lot of things we can fine-tune and fix, but it was a good starting point.”

Curtis said the Falcons are showing strong discipline on the field, which translated to the success of the running game on display Friday evening.

“We had over 200 yards rushing and four different running backs scored touchdowns throughout the game,” he added.

Touchdowns came from Calvin Lupien, Marcus Bentley, Gavin Furi and Ryan Dyhrkopp.

“We also had an interception returned for a touchdown in the fourth by Jake Barnard,” Curtis added. “He’s back to his roots, helping us out on defense and just being a ball hog.”

Curtis said he felt the defensive coverage was good but not great, something the team will need to work on in preparation to this week’s game against San Tan Foothills.

“A highlight was our junior quarterback, in his first year starting, Spencer Nelson, handled the game in a mature, professional manner,” Curtis said. “He didn’t let the Friday night lights get to him, which is great…Savion Boone also did what he’s always going to do and rose to the occasion.”

After giving up a touchdown in the second quarter, Curtis said he was happy to see his defense buckle down and keep ALAI off the board until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He also gives credit to his coaching staff for the opening game success, saying he felt “very supported and comfortable having those guys in my ear. It would have been impossible without them.”

Looking ahead, the Falcons are set to host San Tan Foothills this Friday evening, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. Rather than wait until the last game of the season, the Falcons will celebrate Senior Night at this outing, with a tailgate party hosted in the high school parking lot beginning at 6 p.m. The evening will have a “Blackout” theme, so everyone is invited to wear black attire to the game.

It should be noted that no cash will be accepted at the gate this season as an added precaution against COVID-19. Fans will be able to pay with a card but, in order to streamline the process, tickets can be purchased and printed early online at falconathletics.bigteams.com. There’s a tab for “Purchase Tickets” at the top of the page.

“San Tan runs the same offense, but they’re going to be a little more equipped,” Curtis said. “They’re talented and, while they might not have the numbers, the boys they have work hard. We’re going to need to play well.

“We had great support [last week] for an away game, so a huge thanks to our fans. Now we’ve got to do whatever we can to get those stands rocking this week.”