GameNight Breakdown: Brutal 1st quarter aside, Pride live up to nickname

There was at least one thing more painful than the immobilized shoulder Mountain Pointe first-string quarterback Austin Lahr has had in a sling all week: watching his teammates get stampeded by Hamilton in Chandler Friday night.

"It's the worst feeling in the world and there's nothing I can do about it," Lahr said while pacing the sidelines during the Huskies 42-0 victory over the Pride.

• Click here for a photo slideshow of Friday's game 
• GameNight: Pride fall, 42-0, to Hamilton after nightmare 1st quarter
• Mountain Pointe football index

Austin Blom replaced Lahr as the starter against Hamilton this week, but the Pride couldn't get anything going behind the junior quarterback or Darius Dean, another junior who switched from wide receiver and defensive back to quarterback Friday night.

"All week long these guys are busting their butt in practice and I felt like I had to be there with them," Lahr said. "Then to see them getting their butts beat ... We're a family and it's like if I saw my little sister in trouble I'd want to step in and I couldn't."

Mountain Pointe was without Lahr while top running back De'Andre Currie and linebacker Ryan Noble were on crutches after being injured last week.

The Pride will also be without senior wide receiver and defensive back Will Claye, who left the team this week.

Claye, who is on target to graduate at mid-semester, has been pursued by Division I colleges for his world-class triple jump talent in track and field. He was already suspended from the Hamilton game after being ejected a week earlier on a personal foul in the closing minutes a loss to Scottsdale Horizon.

"We were physically out-manned tonight," Mountain Pointe coach Phil Abbadessa said. "The score might not show it, but I'm very proud of how our kids played in the second half. That's one of the best teams in the state and we shut them out."

When the Pride were down to one quarterback this week Abbadessa said he was going to stick with varsity players who had been in the program all season rather than call up a backup from the junior varsity.

That backup was Dean, a 5-foot-10 receiver and defensive back.

Although Blom was making his first varsity start after going in for the injured Lahr last week, Dean was throwing passing instead of catching them in the warm-up.

Abbadessa said he planned to use both Blom and Dean.

"We were just giving two quarterbacks an opportunity to play,' Abbadessa said.

Since last week the Pride are running out of crutches.

Junior running backs Tyrone Boykin and Ben Shook were both injured in the first half against Hamilton.

The Pride are out of school this week for the October Break but will continue to practice for their matchup with Yuma Cibola game Friday night in Karl Kiefer Stadium.

"Maybe that will get some of these guys to heal up a little bit faster," Abbadessa said.

Mountain Pointe unloaded its bench in the second half against the Huskies.

"Everyone got a chance to play and that helps team morale," Abbadessa said. "I had one young man who hadn't been in all year come up and thank me for that. That's a precious moment for that young man."

 Although the Huskies lead, 35-0 after the opening quarter, senior Ben DeMarr said the Pride never gave up.

"What is says on our jersey is ‘Pride' and that's a good feeling," DeMarr said. "Sometimes when we don't seem to have the talent we make up for it with that."