Red Mountain junior quarterback Brandon Dobson threw two touchdown passes in only his second start of the season, and the Mountain Lions' defense held Highland to six total net yards in the second half en route to a 14-3 road win over the Hawks on Friday night in Mesa.

Dobson got the start in place of senior standout signal-caller Mason Thorman, who was suspended for Friday's contest. He opened the scoring in the second quarter on a seven-yard pass to junior tight end Diego Hernandez. Late in the fourth quarter, Dobson tossed a short pass to senior wideout Drake Pierre, who raced 30 yards into the end zone for his 11th touchdown catch of the year.

But the night belonged to the Mountain Lion defense, who forced six Highland turnovers on the evening. Senior safety Justin Fitzgerald had a banner night for Red Mountain, picking off three passes and recovering a fumble inside Hawk territory that led to the first touchdown of the game.

Highland held the ball for almost nine minutes on the game's opening drive, but missed a 32-yard field goal. Junior placekicker Noah Miller would later split the uprights from 31 yards out to give the Hawks their only points of the game with 1:08 left in the first half. The Mountain Lions' stingy defense only allowed 6 net yards in the final two quarters, forcing four Hawk punts and picking off four Highland passes.

Red Mountain, who was ranked sixth in the Division I MaxPreps poll coming into the game, improves to 8-2 and all but secures a home playoff game next week. The 14th-ranked Hawks drop to 6-4 and will have to wait to see if they qualify for the postseason.