Red Mountain players celebrate with fans with school fight song after 14-0 win over Skyline (AzPreps365 photo)

 

It's a good thing one team found the end zone early Friday night in the 6A East Valley Region title showdown between No. 7 Red Mountain and  No. 11 Skyline. The frequency of flying penalty flags was surreal by game's end and increased rapidly by the time the second quarter began and never tapered.

But leave it to Red Mountain's all-time offensive leader -- Lance Lawson -- to continue to add to his record-setting career at Red Mountain. The versatile senior played his final regular-season home game and threw for two first-half touchdowns -- for the game's only points - as the Mountain Lions blanked Skyline, 14-0.

Red Mountain (7-2, 4-0 region) won its seventh game in a row and claimed its first football region title since 2007 by unseating the defending region champs, Skyline (5-4. 3-1). Skyline won region titles in 6A and 5A-II the past two seasons.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Lawson tossed a 51-yard touchdown pass on the game's second play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead 25 seconds in. It was a two-yard swing pass to receiver Gerald Wilbon, who galloped the remaining 49 yards down the right sideline. 

At that point there were no penalities called in the game. By the time the contest finished 32 penalties were assessed and perhaps another half dozen declined or offset. Unofficially 315 yards of infractions were doled out -- 17 for 175 to Red Mountain and 15 for 140 to Skyline.

Ten penalties after Red Mountain's first score, the Mountain Lions struck again set up by a tipped interception by Isaac Thompson at the Skyline 29 two minutes into the second period. On the third play after the pick Lawson floated his second TD strike again to Wilbon in the corner of the end zone with 9:36 left in the period. Lawson ran in the two-point conversion and the game's final score was in the books at that point at 14-0.

Lawson didn't do much in the second half - noone did -- but in the first half he showed what his career at Red Mountain is about. Lawson rushed for 53 yards on nine carries in the fisrst half, was 3-of-4 passing for 80 yards and the two scores and caught two passes for 28 yards.

"Yeah, he showed why he has the school records he has with his versatility," Red Mountain coach Mike Peterson said. "He sparked us. Even one of his catches was big. It was third down and a taxi ride and he got us the first down (20-yard reception)."

Skyline faced an uphill battle especially from mid first-quarter forward. The Coyotes lost three players to injury -- 1,000-yard rusher Aaron Wood, who likely suffered a broken collarbone in the first period, starting quarterback Steven Castle (ribs in the second quarter) and Brian Strobel in the second quarter. 

Skyline advanced into Red Mountain territory twice in the first half -- no deeper than the Mountain Lions 30. Each time penalties helped stall the marches. Skyline had chances in the fourth quarter thanks to an interception and one decent drive. Both possessions finished with fumbles recovered by Red Mountain at the Red Mountain 25 and the Red Mountain 3.