Desert Mountain holds off Chaparral's wild comeback attempt in rivalry win

Late Friday night, long after Desert Mountain thought it had an easy rivalry win secured, Chaparral offered one final rebuttal. The Firebirds quarterback, Miles Vandenheuvel, rolled out right, set his feet just inside the 50-yard line and uncorked a prayer. With it carried the hopes of the most improbable comeback of the season in Arizona high school football.

Plas Johnson, one of the trio of receivers that put Chaparral’s miracle within arms’ reach, leapt skyward. Only this time, four Desert Mountain defensive backs were too much to overcome. The ball clattered to the end zone floor. Desert Mountain players waited a second, almost in disbelief, then stormed onto the field as winners of a 30-26 thriller.

As the crown jewel of 5A at 4-0, their Open Division hopes are firmly in reach. Chaparral’s likely died with Vandenheuvel’s unanswered prayer, which left them 2-2.

Here are four takeaways from a heart-stopping night in Scottsdale:

Chaparral’s comeback was incredible

When Desert Mountain went up, 30-7, on the final play of the third quarter, there might not have been a soul inside Chaparral’s stadium that earnestly believed a comeback was possible. Not only were the Firebirds down 23, but they had struggled to move the ball all night.

Then, suddenly, the game flipped. Vandenheuvel began launching the ball downfield and finding Johnson, Cody Judge and Gavin Mesa with ease.

“You've gotta give (Chaparral coach Brent) Barnes a lot of credit because they adjusted to some of our pressures defensively, what we were doing and started chucking the ball downfield and making plays on us,” Desert Mountain coach Conrad Hamilton said. “So we've gotta clean that up.”

The fourth quarter drive log began like this: Chaparral touchdown, Desert Mountain punt, Chaparral touchdown (2 pt-conversion failed), Desert Mountain turnover on downs.

Then, after getting the ball back down 10 with 1:22 to play, Vandenheuvel orchestrated a 62-second, 81-yard touchdown drive that featured a fourth-and-15 conversion to Mesa and a touchdown to Judge.

Because the Firebirds’ extra point was blocked, though, they had to drive for a touchdown, rather than a field goal, after securing an onside kick with 20 seconds left. They made it as far as the 40-yard line, but that was where their dream died.

Desert Mountain can be an Open Division team

Through three quarters, Desert Mountain looked every bit the Open Division team they’ve been billed as. They suffocated Chaparral’s offense and moved the ball with relative ease, only being undone by fumbles.

It was in stark contrast from last year, when Chaparral won this matchup 27-9 at Desert Mountain.

“We played a good game in the first half, we dominated,” Hamilton said. “We're a better team than they are this year. But number one, the difference between this year and last year is they lost 39 seniors.”

With this game out of the way, the Wolves toughest test remaining is a 5A showdown with Notre Dame Prep on Oct. 7.

Desert Mountain’s quarterback rotation works

Last year, Desert Mountain had to rely solely on Drew Tapley under center after Brady McDonough went down with injury early in the season. A year later, that injury carries a silver lining: The Wolves now have two quarterbacks they can trust in key situations.

The pair has split snaps roughly even through four weeks. On Friday, McDonough got the start, but after Desert Mountain turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions, Hamilton primarily relied on Tapley the rest of the way. He answered the call, throwing three touchdowns.

“They both do good things,” Hamilton said. “(McDonough) is a dual-threat. If there's a problem with the pass protection, he can get out and get first downs and run. We can call run plays with him and he can throw the ball as well. (Tapley) is just a pocket passer. He gets the ball out quickly, sprays it to some of the guys out there on the perimeter. So we're gonna continue to play both of them because both of them are good players and they do good things for our program.”

Desert Mountain got contributions from everywhere

Perhaps the biggest factor in Desert Mountain’s win was the impact it got from up and down the roster. Nolan Clement had a sack for a safety, freshman Ryan McDonough returned the ensuing punt to the house, Alexander Nabavi got an interception, Max Shefrin blocked a punt and Dylan Hipp caught a 42-yard touchdown.

The biggest star, though, was Jack Freeburg. He caught two touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 75-yard screen pass that ended up making the difference in the game.

“My tight end, he's out there with me, cracks the corner and then all my linemen are coming out,” Freeburg said. “So as soon as I caught that and turned upfield, lots of space. There was one kid. And then one of my linemen, Cole Tappin, who's a phenomenal lineman, he made a great block and then no one in front of me and then I was just out in space and it was just open road.”

Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.