The Fountain Hills high school football season is over. The Falcons traveled to Valley Christian last Friday, Oct. 29, and lost 56-22.

Valley Christian is 9-1, and they are looking ahead to playoffs. The Falcons finished 4-6 and won’t see the postseason this year.

Several of Fountain Hills’ seniors made great plays on Friday, and head coach Jimmy Curtis said he was proud with his team’s final effort. Seniors Savion Boone and Alex Rieck scored touchdowns for the Falcons, and Boone and fellow senior Calvin Lupien each added a turnover.

The Falcon defense allowed two touchdowns in the first quarter, and Valley Christian was in field goal position at the end of the first. The Falcons managed to block the field goal, and after a little hot potato, Boone ran it back for a touchdown.

“His explosiveness is unmatched, he gets around the edge so fast,” Curtis said about Boone. “If he wanted to, he could probably block every kick…It went through Sam Barnard’s hands, Ryan Dyhrkopp’s hands, Marcus Bentley’s hands and then the other team tried to jump on it, and it almost bounced out of bounds. That’s when Savion came and scooped it for probably a 50–60-yard score.”

The Falcons made it a one-score game 18 seconds into the second quarter, but it would not last long. The Trojans scored four more touchdowns before halftime, and the Falcons were down 42-7.

“At halftime, it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, especially knowing we weren’t making playoffs,” Curtis said. “I was really proud of the way those boys finished. They didn’t give up and they responded well.”

Valley Christian started the second half with another score, but this time the Falcons had a response for the Trojans. Junior quarterback Spencer Nelson completed a deep pass for Boone that went for 80-yards and a touchdown. Boone had blown by every defender and caught the ball at midfield.

Boone also caught an interception early on Friday night. Freshman Sam Barnard intercepted a red zone pass and returned it 50 yards in the second quarter, and Calvin Lupien recovered a fumble for the Falcons before halftime.

The Trojans blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to go up 56-14, but the Falcons wanted to finish the season on a better note. The offense drove down at the end of the game and would not be stopped. Nelson completed a 37-yard pass to Boone on fourth and short and put the Falcons in the red zone. On third and 19, Nelson found Rieck for a touchdown pass.

Curtis added that Rieck was dealing with more hip injuries last Friday, making side to side cutting difficult on him. Rieck could still run straight down the field, so Nelson trusted his tight end to go up and grab a fade route for the final score of the night.

Curtis has his first full year as head coach logged in the books. He and the team grew and learned as the season went on, and now he has a full offseason to make improvements.

“I think there was some resolution and some resolve in how hard they worked and also knowing how much harder they are going to have to work,” Curtis said. “We’re right on the horizon, but it’s going to take a lot.”