The Arizona high school football season came to its end over the weekend, and what a season it was.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following the conclusion of last week’s football state championships, the Arizona Interscholastic Athletic Association (AIA) crowned a total of 10 state champions between traditional football (7) and girls flag football (3). The NFL season has been going on since early September, but that didn’t stop the Arizona Cardinals from knowing what was going on in their backyard. Following the conclusion of both seasons, the Cardinals named its coaches and players of the year in both sports.
Queen Creek High School junior quarterback Tait Reynolds was named the Cardinals’ High School Football Player of the Year, and Mica Mountain High School (Tucson) head coach Pat Nugent was announced as their Coach of the Year on Wednesday. Hamilton High School (Chandler) took home the Girls High School Flag Football Coach and Offensive Player of the Year honors, given to Huskies’ head coach Matt Stone and junior wide receiver Samaya Taylor-Jenkins on Thursday. The Defensive Player of the Year went to Millennium High School (Goodyear) senior corner back Breana Saunders.
We're proud to announce our 2024 Cardinals High School Coach & Player of the Year!
Congrats Coach Nugent and Tait ???? pic.twitter.com/nIFosu49rL
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 10, 2024
Congratulations to our 2024 @AZCardinals High School Girls Flag Award Winners ????@samaya_jenkins @_breanasaunders @HHSGirlsFlag pic.twitter.com/2YQDPaknsa
— Arizona Cardinals Youth Football (@azcardsyouthfb) December 12, 2024
If you know nothing else about Arizona high school football, know the name Tait Reynolds.
Queen Creek’s man under center is the No. 1 player in Arizona’s junior class. He’s a four-star prospect, according to 247sports. The junior is committed to College Football Playoff bound Clemson and showed why he has been donned as the best in the state all year.
Reynolds led the Bulldogs to a 10-4 finish, putting a cap on his junior season in a hard fought loss in the Class 6A state semifinal to eventual champion Centennial. Reynolds was a one-man-band for Queen Creek, leading his team in passing and rushing. He completed 156-252 passes (61.9%) for 2,238 yards and 22 touchdowns, throwing only five interceptions. If you didn’t know he was a quarterback, his rushing totals would tell you otherwise. He averaged 10.4 yards per carry, rushing for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns.
It’s crazy to think he still has his entire senior season ahead of him.
First big play of the game for the Dawgs from @TaitReynoldsQC to @Dylansims_9 @QC_football @TSchureman pic.twitter.com/YOSykOEzSj
— QC Bulldog Insider (@QCbulldogin) November 30, 2024
It seems as if without Reynolds, Queen Creek would be lost. That wasn’t the case for Nugent and his army at Mica Mountain.
Nugent and Mica pummeled the AIA’s Class 4A, going undefeated through their championship season. Nugent led a Mica squad that allowed no more than 14 points this year, outscoring teams 534-91. Teams averaged only 6.5 points per game against Nugent, as his Thunderbolts pitched four shutouts over the course of the season and didn’t see a team score double digits until the playoffs. His unstoppable offense averaged 38.1 points per game, scoring more than 35 points in nine of the Thunderbolts win, including a 42-13 win over Arizona College Prep (Chandler) in the state title bout.
This is not Nugent’s first rodeo. The Mica Mountain head coach claimed his first state title in 2007 with Canyon Del Oro High School (Tucson). After a stint at next level at Pima Community college, Nugent is back dominating the AIA.
On the girls flag football side, Hamilton is the as good as it gets.
Award recipients Taylor-Jenkins and Stone led Hamilton on an undefeated run to claim a 6A title.
What Nugent did in traditional football, Stone did in flag football. Hamilton’s 17-0 season came by way of a stout defense that held teams to a beyond impressive 3.4 points per game. The Huskies didn’t allow any points in 11 of their contest, and hadn’t seen more than 17 points — a 21-17 victory over Red Mountain High School (Mesa) — all season. Hamilton’s offense match it with 31. 1 points per game.
Most of those points came from its star, Taylor-Jenkins. The junior snatched down an incredible 2,138 yards and 39 touchdowns on 156 receptions (13.7 yards per catch).
What a grab from Samaya Taylor-Jenkins! Maccagnano➡️Taylor-Jenkins connection is on tonight. @HHSGirlsFlag @azcsports pic.twitter.com/qLaYwGdHHq
— Eliya Herriott (@HerriottEliya) September 1, 2023
She tacked on nine interceptions to her final high school campaign, but it wasn’t enough to overshadow Millenium’s Saunders.
Saunders wasn’t able to get her Tigers through the playoffs, but her effort can never be questioned. She closed out her final high school season with 20 interceptions and 11 pass deflections.
WHAT A FINISH. Millenniums Breana Saunders gets a game winning pick six to end the game!!! Millennium moves on after a 13-0 win. pic.twitter.com/tdCIQMADEQ
— Mason Byers (@Mason_Byers5) September 28, 2024
Football in the Valley has been booming as of late, with Arizona State preparing for the College Football Playoffs and the Cardinals competing for the No.1 spot in the NFC West, all eyes have been on the mainstream football players in the Valley. Despite the success — and stress — it hasn’t caused the Cardinals to forget about its local stars, and the Valley shouldn’t either.
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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live
