The battle for first place in the 6A Central Region took place Friday night in Phoenix. We may have seen a Brophy College Prep team that can make it back to the Open Division quarterfinals.
Brophy (7-3 overall, 4-0 6A Central Region) has played six of its 10 games against teams currently in the top 12 in the rankings (through nine games). The Broncos went 3-3 in those, falling to the Chandler District trio of Hamilton, Chandler, and Basha while defeating Mountain View, Williams Field, and its opponent on Friday night, Higley. There’s no question that BCP (ranked #7) has been tested.
The Broncos trailed after a quarter, and watched their offense score just three points over their first three drives. But after that, Brophy erupted on both sides of the ball and drilled Higley, 47-29, in the regular-season finale for both teams at Ray Laing Field on the campus of Central High School.
With the win, Brophy claims back-to-back region titles. That hasn’t happened for the Broncos since 2011-12 when Devon Allen was catching passes. Allen is now the team’s receivers coach.
Midway through the second quarter, Brophy had punted twice and scored a field goal in between. However, the score was tied at 10 thanks to an opening kickoff return (97 yards) by Ryder Noche. After that though, the Broncos’ passing game got going. Junior quarterback Noah Stewart threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and by the end of the third quarter, it was a comfortable 40-16 lead.
“We turned it around,” Brophy Head Coach Jason Jewell said. “That offensive line handled the line of scrimmage. Our run game set up big time throws.”
Higley (8-2, 3-1) saw the longest win streak in 6A end after eight games. The Knights entered the game at #11 and had to wait until Saturday morning to see if they would be playing in the Open Division bracket (12 teams) or the 6A (8 teams).
5 players that stood out
Brophy ATH Ryder Noche
The 5-8, 180-pound senior plays wide receiver, running back, cornerback, and returns kicks. And he did all of those things well on Friday. Noche caught a touchdown pass (37 yards), ran for a TD (25 yards), intercepted a pass, and brought the opening kickoff back to the house (97 yards). He was a preseason Fiesta Bowl All-State team honoree (as a kick returner) and continues to show why. Noche caught three passes for 63 yards and had six carries for 49 yards. His trio of touchdowns boost his season total to an even 10. After this playoff run is done, Noche will be taking his 4.20 GPA (and game) to Colgate University in upstate New York.
Brophy RB Eli Price
The junior running back had a season-high with 133 yards on 16 carries. That was the bulk of the workload for the Broncos (rest of the team had 18 attempts). Price has absorbed the culture of working in the weight room during the offseason and it shows on Fridays. He was averaging six yards per carry coming in and that number went up after this one. Last spring, Price (5-10, 195) squatted 455 and power cleaned 270. The lifting doesn’t stop in the weight room as he carries a 4.33 GPA.
Brophy QB Noah Stewart
The junior quarterback (pictured at the top of the article) is in his first year as the varsity starter for the Broncos. He has come up through the ranks with a season as the freshman QB along with one at JV, both for Brophy. Friday was his first four-touchdown game as he connected with Donovan McNabb Jr., John Chrostowski, Ryder Noche, and Karter Chamblin (all within a span of 14 minutes in the second and third quarters). During that stretch, Brophy scored touchdowns on four of its five drives, and turned a 10-10 tie into a 40-16 rout. Stewart called Friday’s game a “get-back game” as Higley defeated the Broncos in overtime last year. A two-sport athlete, Stewart also plays baseball (outfield/pitcher).
Brophy FS Mason Alexander
Higley came in averaging 35 points per game. The Brophy defense limited the Knights to just 22 (one TD came on a kickoff return). Alexander is the son of former Washington Redskins’ linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. He’s versatile and can also play the linebacker spot. Alexander played a role on special teams with a blocked punt that went through the end zone for a safety. Just a sophomore, he already holds an offer from Arizona.
Higley QB Anthony Palka
The Knights’ senior quarterback has been a lethal dual-threat all season and showed off both parts of his game. Through the air Palka completed his last nine passes of the game as the Knights tried to rally in the fourth quarter. He finished the game 17-of-26 for 254 yards (a season-high in yardage) with a touchdown throw to Allan Turner. On the ground, Palka had 11 carries for 64 yards with a pair of 7-yard touchdowns (12 total TDs this season). Palka was a quarterback for Higley at the freshman level and JV level his first two years. He played running back as a junior on varsity with Gunner Farrell as the quarterback. This season, he began as a receiver before junior Cayden Schlueter suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game. Including his play at the lower levels, Palka is 22-3 as a starting quarterback for the Knights.
5 (non-scoring) plays that made a difference
- Trailing 7-3 in the first quarter, Higley quarterback Anthony Palka completed a 36-yard pass to Jordyn Harris, finishing at the 12-yard line. The Knights finished off the drive to take their only lead.
- With the score tied at 10 in the second quarter, Higley was close to retaking the lead and had the ball at the Brophy 25-yard line. But the drive ended when Ryder Noche intercepted a pass at the 12-yard line. Higley never had the ball with a chance to take the lead again.
- On the ensuing drive from their own 12-yard line, the Broncos scored in just four plays. The big play of the drive was a 46-yard run by senior Scout Kinkel.
- Trailing 31-16 in the third quarter, Higley had to start at its own 5-yard line following a punt. There was a penalty called, which took the ball half the distance back from the 10. The Knights were unable to get out and had to punt from the 7. This punt would be blocked for a Brophy safety, and a three-score lead.
- Leading 40-23 in the fourth quarter and having just hit 100 yards rushing, Brophy running back Eli Price found some room up the middle and took off for a 32-yard run. The Broncos scored their sixth TD of the night later in the drive.
5 key stats
- Brophy had a season-high 532 yards of total offense.
- The Broncos scored on five of their final six possessions. All were touchdowns.
- Each team had a kickoff return for a touchdown. Ryder Noche (97 yards) for Brophy and Jordyn Harris (99 yards) for Higley.
- Higley had zero passing yards in the second quarter. The Knights ran 10 plays and nine of them were runs.
- Freshman Karter Chamblin led Brophy in receiving with 102 yards in his five catches.
Video highlight
This third-quarter play from Brophy shows how well the Broncos receivers were able to get open. It features two of the stars from BCP in QB Noah Stewart and WR Ryder Noche and it boosted the Brophy lead to three scores midway through the period.
Courtesy of Just Chilly, here is video of the full play.
5:58 3Q
Brophy 3️⃣1️⃣
Higley 1️⃣0️⃣QB Noah Stewart finds WR/ATH Ryder Noche who is running down the middle of the field by himself for the 37 yard TD!! https://t.co/Bm4gEfdz9C
— Just Chilly (@JUSTCHILLY) November 7, 2026
Broncos 47, Knights 29
HHS. . . . 10 0 6 13 – 29
BCP. . . . . 7 17 16 7 – 47
First Quarter
BRO: Ryder Noche 97 yard kick return (Jack Carson kick), 11:46, 7-0
HIG: Gabriel Ferraro 33 yard FG, 6:34, 7-3
HIG: Allan Turner 12 yard pass from Anthony Palka (Ferraro kick), 3:34, 7-10
Second Quarter
BRO: Carson 45 yard FG, 9:24, 10-10
BRO: Donovan McNabb Jr. 27 yard pass from Noah Stewart (Carson kick), 2:02, 17-10
BRO: John Chrostowski 29 yard pass from Stewart (Carson kick), 0:10, 24-10
Third Quarter
BRO: Noche 37 yard pass from Stewart (Carson kick), 5:58, 31-10
HIG: Jordyn Harris 99 yard kick return (run failed), 5:43, 31-16
BRO: Safety. Punt blocked out of end zone, 2:20, 33-16
BRO: Karter Chamblin 53 yard pass from Stewart (Carson kick), 0:35, 40-16
Fourth Quarter
HIG: Palka 7 yard run (Ferraro kick), 9:11, 40-23
BRO: Noche 25 yard run (Carson kick), 5:08, 47-23
HIG: Palka 7 yard run (pass failed), 3:28, 47-29
Team Statistics
First Downs – HIG: 19, BRO: 15. Rushes-Yards – HIG: 33-190, BRO: 34-283. Comp-Att-Int – HIG: 17-26-1, BRO: 14-26-0. Passing Yards – HIG: 254, BRO: 249. Total Yards – HIG: 444, BRO: 532. Fumbles Lost – HIG: 0, BRO: 0. Penalties-Yards – HIG: 8-70, BRO: 6-55.
Individual Leaders
Passing – HIG: Palka 17-26-1, 254 yards, BRO: Stewart 13-25-0, 223 yards.
Rushing – HIG: Young 17-116, Palka 11-64, BRO: Price 16-133, Kinkel 5-67, Noche 6-49.
Receiving – HIG: Richardson 4-94, Harris 5-88, Turner 5-46, BRO: Chamblin 5-102, Noche 3-63.
5 people I talked to after the game
Brophy QB Noah Stewart on how his progress is coming along after 10 games as the starter: “The game keeps slowing down. I just keep trusting my coaches and people around me and they’ve been doing the hard work for me.”
Higley Head Coach Eddy Zubey on what his seniors have meant to the program: “A lot of the guys have been here for four years. This senior class came in after we won our first state championship. To have them stay true to the program and buy into everything we do and uphold the standard of the program has been awesome.”
Brophy RB Eli Price on what the playoffs mean to him: “Last year, we played here against Casteel (a 51-42 Bronco win). Being on the sideline was special. Now, I get to play in it. Hopefully get a dub and then play in one of the hardest divisions in the country.”
Brophy ATH Ryder Noche on the effort of the defense tonight: “Higley is a good team with a high-scoring offense. We were super-physical in the second quarter. That was definitely our best quarter. We came out in the second half balling.”
Brophy Head Coach Jason Jewell on the 20 seniors on the team and what they’ve meant to the program: “There’s a year we struggled and went 3-7 (2022, a year before this senior class). It was this group that set the culture in the weight room for our kids and the standards that we have. This team is built in the weight room.”
Next week
Higley (8-2) moved up a spot in the final rankings to #10 despite the loss. It was a combination of playing a top-10 team and Red Mountain losing to ALA-Queen Creek. That keeps the Knights in the Open Division, meaning Higley is guaranteed at least two more games. HHS will play on the road next week (third straight away game) in North Phoenix at Pinnacle (7-3). The Pioneers are the #7 seed after rallying to defeat Boulder Creek, 41-31. The teams did not meet this season, but did in 2025, when Pinnacle won 41-11. The winner of next Friday’s game will play Chandler in the quarterfinals. The season will not end for the losing team. That squad will drop into the 6A quarterfinals and host a game on Nov. 20.
Brophy (7-3) figured to get another home game and the Broncos will. The Broncos were passed by Perry (who defeated Basha) and ended up with the #8 seed. That means we almost had a Brophy-Higley rematch had it not been for the Pumas’ upset. BCP will play Mountain View (8-2) in a rematch of a game from Sept. 18. The Broncos won that one, 31-28 on a walkoff field goal from Jack Carson. Both the Toros and Broncos had success running the ball as each team ran for more than 230 yards. Quarterback Brayden Merwin and running back Coy Bodily each ran for more than 100 yards. The winner of that one from Central High School will play top-seeded Liberty. The losing team will play at home in the quarters in the 6A bracket.
The post Gridiron Five: Brophy offense erupts after slow start to take region first appeared on Sports360AZ.