The Higley Knights pounded their way to a key 20-6 road victory Friday night over the Arcadia Titans.

(More photos, click here).

The Knights took the lead for good on the first play of the fourth quarter, when running back Kelvin Fisher punched through the line for a 28-yard scoring run. Higley started the drive in great field position after forcing a turnover on downs.

Higley then ended the Titans next drive early when Joe McBride sacked quarterback Cole Richardson and forced a fumble. The turnover gave the Knights the ball at the Arcadia 30-yard line.

Fisher finished the drive a few plays later with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down. A 17-yard run by TJ Mitchell set up the score.

Fisher finished the game with 17 carries for 81 yards and two scores. He also threw for a touchdown.

The Knights dominated at the line of scrimmage on defense, and the Titans never got into rhythm on offense. Higley held the normally potent Arcadia running game to only 91 yards.

“They were more physical than us up front,” said Arcadia coach Jim Ellison. “They are a good team, and they played a great game out there today.”

Higley got off to a quick start when defensive lineman Ben Vaivao recovered a fumble on Arcadia’s first drive of the game.

Following the fumble, Higley put seven points up on a long pass play. The Knights utilized the spread, and Fisher found Michael Strand for a 51-yard touchdown pass.

Arcadia tied the game in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Sosaia Maafu. The drive started at the Arcadia 35 after Bradley Tefft returned a Higley punt 20 yards.

Following a 16-yard scramble by Richardson, running backs Tefft and Ryan Fochtman put the Titans in scoring position with mid-range runs of their own.

The game remained tied 7-7 until the fourth quarter, as both defenses held the line and refused to give an inch to the opponent.

Linebacker Alex Bolton led Arcadia’s defensive charge. He jumped the snap and sacked the Knight quarterback in the second quarter following Arcadia’s score to force a three-and-out. Landen Berry also picked up a sack in the game. Safety Brendan Satran read the play correctly on Higley’s second attempt at the spread and picked off a pass in the first quarter.

The Higley defense pressured Richardson all game and forced the quarterback to rush most of his throws. Fisher intercepted a deep pass in the fourth quarter to end an Arcadia comeback attempt.

“The past couple of weeks we were the more physical team,” said Ellison. “That wasn’t the case tonight.”

Turnovers and penalties plagued the Titans. The two fumbles and an interception ended promising Arcadia drives.

The Titans also had a 25-yard pass play to Maafu called back because of an illegal man down field in the third quarter. Earlier in the game, Arcadia lost a 50-yard punt return by Tefft due to a holding call.

“We had some issues preparing and focusing this week, and I'll take responsibility for that,” said Ellison.

“Like anything in life, you have to prepare. I think that is a lesson we learned this week.”