THE CLIMB HITS A CROSSROADS: Red Mountain Gets Undefeated Williams Field Under the Friday Night Lights
By: Chrisian Klein
Photos by: Stephanie Ross | @picture_this_by_stephanie on Instagram
Three weeks into the 2026 season, Red Mountain has already experienced just about everything Friday night football can throw at a team.
A one-point escape on the road. A 50-point offensive explosion at home. Then a frustrating road loss in a game the Mountain Lions once controlled.
Now comes another test.
Red Mountain returns home Friday night at 2-1 to face an undefeated Williams Field team sitting at 3-0, setting up a matchup between two Arizona 6A programs that have combined to score 237 points through their first six games. Williams Field has scored 117 while allowing 61; Red Mountain has scored 120 and surrendered 101.
For Red Mountain, Week 4 is about more than simply getting back into the win column.
It is the next step in The Climb.
Three Weeks, Three Very Different Tests
Red Mountain opened its season Aug. 27 at Casteel, where the Mountain Lions escaped Queen Creek with a 35-34 victory.
The game established a theme that has followed Red Mountain through the opening stretch: this offense can create explosive plays quickly.
Senior quarterback Caleb Joe completed 12 of 17 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the opener. Kaeden Weaver provided the biggest receiving punch, turning only three receptions into 154 yards and a touchdown.
Red Mountain led 35-28 after three quarters and survived Casteel's fourth-quarter push to start the season 1-0.
One week later, the Mountain Lions turned a close first half against Westwood into a runaway.
Photo by: Stephanie Ross | @picture_this_by_stephanie on Instagram
Red Mountain led only 19-15 at halftime before outscoring Westwood 31-7 after the break, rolling to a 50-22 victory.
Joe delivered perhaps his sharpest performance of the young season, finishing 14-of-18 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Airreon Windom exploded for 153 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches, while Darius-Grayson Courts rushed for 86 yards and two scores on 10 carries.
Through two games, Red Mountain was undefeated.
Then came O'Connor.
The Night That Changed the Early-Season Story
Red Mountain traveled to Sandra Day O'Connor on Sept. 11 and entered halftime with a 28-17 advantage.
But the Eagles flipped the game after the break.
O'Connor outscored Red Mountain 28-7 in the second half, including 22 points in the fourth quarter, to hand the Mountain Lions their first loss, 45-35.
Even in defeat, Red Mountain produced several performances that should have the attention of Williams Field's defense.
Courts erupted for 173 rushing yards on 13 carries, averaging 13.3 yards per attempt and breaking a 59-yard run. Joe threw for 208 yards and four touchdowns, while Windom turned three catches into 107 yards and two scores, including a 74-yard reception.
Courts has now rushed for 281 yards through three games, averaging 93.7 yards per game and 8.3 yards per carry.
Windom has become the centerpiece of Red Mountain's vertical passing attack. MaxPreps lists him at 388 receiving yards through three games, an average of 129.3 per contest, with five total touchdowns. Joe leads the Mountain Lions with 829 total yards, while linebacker Rosten Wood is averaging 10 tackles per game and Levi Lawlor has recorded three sacks.
Those numbers help explain why Friday's matchup has the potential to turn into another high-scoring night.
Red Mountain's Offense Has Been Producing at a Serious Rate
The MaxPreps matchup comparison entering Friday lists Red Mountain at 480.7 total yards per game, including 292 passing yards and 188.7 rushing yards per game. Across three games, that projects to roughly 1,442 yards of total offense.
That balance matters.
Defenses cannot simply sit back and protect against Joe and Red Mountain's receiving threats. Courts has already demonstrated he can punish a defense on the ground, and his 173-yard performance against O'Connor added another problem for upcoming opponents.
Williams Field will arrive in Mesa with problems of its own for Red Mountain to solve.
Photo by: Stephanie Ross | @picture_this_by_stephanie on Instagram
Williams Field Hasn't Lost Yet
The Black Hawks enter Friday 3-0, and they have done all of their winning away from home.
Williams Field opened the season with a 49-21 win at Campo Verde, followed that with a 35-17 victory at Queen Creek, then defeated Corona del Sol 33-23.
Three games. Three road wins.
That makes Friday's trip to Red Mountain anything but unfamiliar territory.
MaxPreps lists the Black Hawks at 131 rushing yards and 141 passing yards per game, with 272 total yards per contest. The comparison is striking: Red Mountain has produced significantly more yardage offensively, but Williams Field has entered Week 4 without a loss.
Junior running back Christian Davis has been one of Williams Field's primary weapons, averaging 111 rushing yards per game while also leading the team at 54 receiving yards per game. MaxPreps lists him with 222 rushing yards in recorded statistics. Defensively, Russell Moss is averaging nine tackles per game, while Christian Sykes has three sacks.
But the name that college football fans should know is Trey Smith.
Remember the Name: Trey Smith
Williams Field senior wide receiver Trey Smith is already committed to play Power Four football for the University of Arizona as part of the Wildcats' 2027 recruiting class.
Smith committed to Arizona on Dec. 1, 2025. Recruiting services list the Williams Field receiver around 5-foot-11 to 6-foot and approximately 165-168 pounds, with On3/Rivals classifying him as a three-star prospect.
And his rƩsumƩ explains the attention.
As a junior in 2025, Smith caught 36 passes for 695 yards, averaging 19.3 yards per reception, with three receiving touchdowns. He also recorded 399 kickoff-return yards, giving him 1,111 all-purpose yards during that season.
His recruitment extended well beyond Arizona. Reporting on Arizona's 2027 class lists offers or interest from programs including Arizona State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Miami, Minnesota, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest before he ultimately committed to the Wildcats.
That makes Friday night's matchup more than a battle between a 2-1 team and a 3-0 team.
There will be legitimate next-level talent on the field.
The Matchup That Could Decide It
On paper, the contrast is fascinating.
Red Mountain:2-1 record.120 points scored.480.7 yards of offense per game in the current MaxPreps matchup comparison.
Williams Field:3-0 record.117 points scored.Three victories ā all on the road.
Red Mountain has shown the ability to strike quickly through the air and produce chunk plays on the ground.
Williams Field has shown something equally valuable: consistency.
The Black Hawks have yet to leave a stadium without a win.
Red Mountain, meanwhile, gets an immediate opportunity to answer its first setback of the season.
That may be the most important storyline of Friday night.
How does a talented team respond after losing for the first time?
Built for Friday
The first three weeks have already given Red Mountain a season's worth of emotion.
35-34 A one-point escape at Casteel.
50-22 An offensive statement against Westwood.
35-45 A road lead that slipped away at O'Connor.
Photo by: Stephanie Ross | @picture_this_by_stephanie on Instagram
Now an undefeated Williams Field team walks into Red Mountain.
There will be offensive firepower. There will be college-level talent. There will be pressure. And for a Mountain Lions team trying to establish exactly what it wants this season to become, there may not be a better opportunity to show it.
Red Mountain vs. Williams FieldFriday, Sept. 18 | 7:00 p.m.Red Mountain High School ā Mesa, Arizona.
The next chapter of THE CLIMB: [Built for Friday] starts under the lights.
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