Steven Rivera
POOL PLAY
The day for the Knights opened with an unscheduled bye, as Basic High School of Henderson, Nevada forfeited their first round game as a no-show. The tournament officially kicked off with the second round of pool play, where the Knights defeated Rancho High School (North Las Vegas) 34-12. The Knights scored on the first play in their first two offensive possessions with connections from Steven Rivera to Hunter Duran. Later in the game, Anthony Miller scored on a highlight reel play, pulling in a ball in the end zone on a long pass that had deflected off of two players. In round three of pool play, Arroyo clinched the pool with a 34-22 win over Olympus High School (Salt Lake City). The Knights led the Titans by six at the half, and then pulled away in the second half to a 34-14 lead before a late score by Olympus.
QUARTERFINALS
In the first round of quarterfinals, the Knights opened up an early lead, and then finished off Coronado High School (Henderson) by a 36-22 margin. Rivera put up big numbers again in this game, throwing five TDs for the third game in a row.
SEMIFINALS
In the performance of the tournament for the Knights, Arroyo faced previously undefeated Faith Lutheran High School (Summerlin, Nevada). The contest was over from virtually the start, as the Knights moved up and down the field with ease, crushing the Crusaders by a 44-6 score. Rivera threw for five TD’s for the fifth consecutive game, and the Knights had a rare defensive score when Mike Amaya returned an Interception for a TD. An all-California final was negated at the last second when Olympus HS (Utah) threw a bomb that connected, leading them to a four-point win over Monrovia, who had rolled through the tournament up to that point.
FINALS
The Knights won the championship in dramatic fashion, making a late defensive stand to hold on in their rematch with Utah’s Olympus High, winning by the score of 16-12. The Knights trailed 6-0 at the half, and then scored early in the second half on a 10-yard TD pass from Steven Rivera to Sam Torres. The Titans scored in response, making the score 12-8. Arroyo responded with a 45-yard TD strike from Rivera to Hunter Duran. With two minutes to play, the Titans were moving down the field. But an end-zone pass was deflected by Arroyo’s Eddie Frederico into the hands of Mike Amaya, sealing the victory.
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