Coming off an 11-2 season, the American Leadership Academy-Gilbert North (AZ) Eagles were looking good, but they hadn't been tested.

The offense had been electric and the team was winning by large margins, but the competition hadn't been enough to proclaim the Eagles a favorite to win the 5A Conference. That distinction belonged to Desert Edge (Goodyear, AZ), a team with at least 10 Div. I recruits that had outscored its opponents 118-7 throughout its first three games.

After Friday night, you can flip that. ALA-GN defeated the Scorpions 33-30, with the game-winning score coming on a nine-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Ben Livingston to senior WR Cam Shepard with about six minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Senior RB/S Weston Powell had a pair of touchdowns and a key first down on the final possession to help Desert Edge run down the clock, according to local reporter Anthony P. The Eagles, who led at halftime, overcame a self-inflicted wound in the third quarter in which they fumbled the ball in their own end zone, with Desert Edge recovering and taking a lead that would hold going into the fourth quarter.

It was a stunning win for ALA-GN, who last year lost to Desert Edge 29-7, but it wasn't necessarily out of nowhere. In the first three games, the Eagles scored 73, 44, and 49 points, respectively, and gave up just 33 total. The relatively weaker strength of schedule did not diminish what they had accomplished.

But the win over Desert Edge is a tribute to the players and the coaching of ALA-GN. The Scorpions were led by Div. I-bound players like quarterback Blake Roskopf, who was averaging 357 passing yards per game entering the night; safety Jaelyn Easterling-Flores, a four-star junior defensive back; and Mikyal Davis, an Oklahoma commit.

Players like Livingston, Shepard, Powell, Easton Wiser and Isaac Massey stepped up for ALA-GN, which is now 4-0 on the year. The team was winning for a large portion of the game, and bounced back quickly after Desert Edge took the lead on what was a momentum-killing moment: a fumble in the end zone not long after an Eagles interception.

Last year's 11-2 season ended with heartbreak in the semifinals. Now, ALA-GN is up there with reigning champion Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, AZ) as favorites for the 5A conference in Arizona.