By Jon Johnson
PIMA — Postseason football can be an unforgiving crucible, a lesson the upstart Heritage Academy Mesa Heroes learned firsthand on Friday night.
Making their inaugural postseason appearance in the league, the Heroes ran hard into a veteran Pima Roughriders squad playing with immense poise on its home turf. Powered by a suffocating defensive masterclass that forced nine turnovers, Pima handled business decisively, grounding Heritage Academy 30-6 in the first round of the 2A State Football Playoffs.
“We came out, and we played some really good football,” Pima head coach Josh Wilkins said. “We had a really sour taste in our mouth from the way we performed last week. We knew we were better. We came out and had a really good game plan . . . We (were) just playing good football and I think we just got a little complacent. But we gotta learn from that too.”
The matchup was defined early by hard hits and defensive pressure, but once the Roughriders found their rhythm, they never looked back.
Defensive Thievery Sets the Tone
For the opening quarter, both offenses struggled to find traction in a bruising, scoreless standoff. The deadlock finally cracked when Heritage threatened inside Pima territory, only to watch quarterback Kevin Pugmire overthrow his receiver under duress. Enter Pima junior ball hawk Mason Skinner, who hauled in the first of his game-high three interceptions to swing the momentum.
On the very next play, senior Adam Bryce provided the game’s explosive spark. Finding a seam, Bryce broke to the edge and turned on the jets, racing 65 yards down the sideline and tiptoeing the boundary to pay dirt. With senior Haydn Wilkins splitting the uprights, Pima broke the ice at 7-0.
The aerial thievery was only getting started. On the Heroes’ ensuing possession, Pugmire was flushed to the right under a heavy pass rush, and junior Kaden Davis jumped the route for an interception at the Heritage 36.
True to form, Pima made them pay immediately. Senior quarterback Cedrick Grimes stepped back on play-action and dropped an absolute dime over the shoulder to senior Emmet Mcbiles for a 36-yard touchdown strike. With 3:01 left in the opening frame, the Riders doubled their advantage to 13-0. Grimes would finish the night 6-14 for 106 yards and 1 TD.
Ground and Pound Piles on the Pressure
Pima’s defensive front kept the screws turned in the second quarter, collapsing the pocket around new quarterback Ben Nyman. Moments later, Skinner struck again, intercepting his second pass of the afternoon to set the offense up at the Heroes’ 40-yard line.
After a gritty run by Davis moved the chains, senior workhorse Joe “Lunchbox” Palmer finished the march, rumbling 11 yards right up the gut for a touchdown. A successful 2-point conversion pushed the lead to 21-0.
The turnovers continued to cascade for Heritage. On the next drive, Skinner and Grimes converged on a screen pass, jarring the ball loose. Mcbiles alertly pounced on the scramble for a fumble recovery—capping a stellar all-around night for Mcbiles, who added two catches for 42 yards and a score to go with his interception.
Before the halftime whistle blew, Palmer added his second scoring plunge of the night on a 4-yard dive, sending the Roughriders into the locker room firmly in command at 27-0.
Closing Out the Statement Win
Pima kept its foot on the gas out of the break. A successful onside kick recovered by Landon Miner stole an immediate possession back for the Riders, leading to a 22-yard field goal from Wilkins that stretched the margin to 30-0.
Heritage refused to fold, getting on the board in the third quarter when Nyman hooked up with Ryan Oakes on a deep strike to break the shutout at 30-6. The Heroes mounted several aggressive drives down the stretch, testing Pima’s goal-line defense multiple times.
“That’s a pretty good team over there,” coach Wilkins said. “You just can’t let off. You can’t stop playing, especially as we get further and further in the playoffs; you gotta stay focused for the whole fourth quarter. I think we kind of lost it there . . . But stepping back and looking at it, I mean, we had some mistakes, but we held them three times down in the red zone. I mean, the defense stepped up when the offense wasn’t clicking, so all in all I think we did good.”
The Roughriders’ defense—anchored by a phenomenal 12-tackle, two-for-loss performance from Palmer, alongside disruptive plays from Colt Lunt and Roddy Allred—bowed up with crucial fourth-down stands to slam the door on any hopes of a comeback.
When the final horn sounded, Pima’s relentless defense had completed its masterclass, securing a resounding 30-6 win and advancing into the postseason bracket.
Up Next
The Roughriders will hit the road for round 2, facing No. 4 Chandler Prep Academy on Friday, Nov. 6, starting at 7 p.m. The Titans previously defeated Pima 54-13 on Oct. 23.
“That’s a really good team with some good speed,” coach Wilkins said of Chandler Prep. “We gotta prepare; we gotta be ready for that speed. You know, we came out, and we played really good at the first of the game last week, and we just gotta stay in there and not get down on ourselves, and these guys just gotta be there for each other.”
In other Local Prep Football Action
No. 3 ranked Thatcher (5-1 region, 8-2 overall) defeated the Coolidge Bears 62-13. The Eagles will next host the No. 14 ALA – Ironwood Warriors in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs at EAC on Friday, Nov. 6, starting at 7 p.m.
No. 11 St. Johns defeated No. 22 Morenci 42-6 in the opening round of the 2A State Playoffs.
