Nov. 1, 2025. 

Coronado High School. 

About 6 p.m. 

Highland Prep West will remember Saturday as the day the campus became a state champ for the first time. Credit its boys soccer squad for securing that title. 

The quest for winning a championship, which the Hornets accomplished after defeating Sedona Red Rock 2-0, began four years ago. That’s when a coach from New York moved to the Valley to get away from bad weather. 

For Ian Blain, he certainly was feeling sunny as he watched his boys celebrate on Coronado’s pitch, drenched in water the players doused their coach with. Four years ago, Blain began training a group of freshmen he developed into champions. 

“We had to beg kids to play soccer because we only had freshmen,” Blain said. “But 15 of those kids are on the field today. Absolutely we knew we had something special."

Last year, Highland West Prep reached the state quarterfinals, losing 4-3 to Show Low. 

This season, in the state semifinals, the Hornets avenged that loss with a 4-3 shootout victory over Show Low. In this year’s final, the Hornets struck quickly. 

Sophomore midfielder Daniel Fonseca wowed fans and teammates with his thunder strike from long distance on a free kick that dipped in after hitting the crossbar. While facing the setting sun, it seemed like Sedona Red Rock’s goalkeeper struggled to judge the trajectory of the ball just four minutes into the match.

But nobody failed to see how VanMichael Smith dazzled in the 32nd minute. The Highland West Prep senior forward weaved his way by three defenders to set up a 1 v. 1 with the goalkeeper.

Smith completed the impressive run with his team’s second goal. Sedona Red Rock (11-3-1), the sixth seed, made some changes at halftime that helped keep the tall and physical Hornets from scoring again. 

But Sedona Red Rock had trouble all match long getting by Highland Prep West’s final line of defense, especially the match’s MVP, goalkeeper Collin Aska. The 6-4 senior is a basketball player and didn’t start playing soccer until Blain saw Aska walking their school’s halls three years ago.

“This means the world to my teammates,” Aska said. “And because it means the world to them, it means the world to me too. I like playing back there, holding everything down. I love that I can do this for them." 

It was the 10th time that Aska and his defense shut out an opponent this year. 

“Collin hadn’t touched a soccer ball and wound up being the MVP of the state championship game,” Blain said. “Crazy.”

Highland Prep West joined the Arizona Interscholastic Association two seasons ago. 

This year, it ended with a perfect 16-0 record and made school history.

Collin Aska picked up his 10th shutout of the year and MVP honors Saturday in the fall soccer final at Coronado High School. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)