Eric SorensonFor the past two weeks these long-time friends played nice but Saturday morning at Sun Devil Stadium one got the best of the other as Steve Campbell and his Williams Field Black Hawks defeated Max Ragsdale’s Campo Verde Coyotes 19-0 to claim their second 5A State Championship in the past four years.
Williams Field finished runner up in 2010 and 2014, and went home with a trophy in 2016 and 2019. Head Coach Steve Campbell with the gold ball on the field he used to play college football on. pic.twitter.com/mPTkSEkqPs
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WF not only defeated their Gilbert neighbors for the second time this season, they again shut down Campo’s offense which was surging before the playoffs started.
Both teams were sloppy with the ball in the first half suffering turnovers and untimely penalties but the game seemed to shift late in the second quarter after a missed Campo field goal attempt (their second of the game), Black Hawks’ senior quarterback Mason Bugg connected with Joshua Gale who received some excellent downfield blocking and took the swing pass in the flat 80 yards down the WF sideline for a touchdown extending the lead to 13-0 going into the locker room.
Neither team scored in the third quarter but Bugg, who watched his older brother Tre’ win it all in 2016, put the championship on ice midway through the fourth finding Myles Taylor who broke loose behind the Coyotes’ secondary and raced untouched into the end zone.
The setback temporarily dampers an incredible season by Campo who finishes 10-4 but upset higher seeds Higley and Notre Dame Prep to make it to the title game.
Williams Field (12-2) rattled off 12-consecutive wins on their way to hoisting another gold ball.
