Sure, it wasn’t the sexiest of matchups. Yes, there were other higher-profile games to see. No, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing, not that Scottsdale Horizon should care. (Steve Casey is too good a coach to have suffered through the past few seasons, even after the Huskies moved from 5A-I to 5A-II).
But much like its cross-’Tukee rival Desert Vista, Phoenix Mountain Pointe is a solid place to watch a game (especially during sunset and dusk with mountains in the backdrop), and I wanted to see what the hoopla about Pride tailback De’andre Currie was all about.
I saw all right. He’s fast, extremely shifty, can switch directions quickly, and with a combination of hard running and his low center of gravity (he’s 5-foot-6, maybe), is very difficult to tackle.
Currie led the Pride’s JV team in rushing last year, and with a collection of kids departing for Laveen Cesar Chavez or Chandler, he was going to get his chance on Varsity. In several conversations with coach Phil Abbadessa before the season started, Currie was never mentioned.
He got the picture-esque yards (a 73-yard run in the first quarter in which he ran around the left side of his O-line, made a couple cuts and shed a couple tackles down the sideline) and the tough yards (4th-and-1 conversion).
He also got hurt before halftime when his ankle got caught while being tackled at the 1-yard-line just before halftime, and though Abbadessa won’t know if or how much time he’ll miss until early next week, severe ankle sprains can be torturous when it comes to fully healing.
The Pride had 1st-and-goal at the 1 when Currie had to be helped off the field, but couldn’t score a touchdown, settled for a field goal (and 10-9 lead), and that was the beginning of the end.
Quarterback Austin Lahr had his left (non-throwing) hand injured shortly thereafter and couldn’t return, and linebacker Ryan Noble suffered a major leg injury on the second-half kickoff.
Then speedster Will Claye made a poor decision, got caught, and kicked out of the game doing some extracurriculars on the final snap while Horizon was taking a knee, and any player who gets ejected is automatically suspended from the next game.
So there’s a real possibility Mountain Pointe could be playing at Chandler Hamilton next week without a starting running back, quarterback (though Lahr’s injury appeared to be the least serious of the three), receiver/defensive back and linebacker.
