It's on to HS football title games for ALA-Gilbert North, Snowflake, Cactus, Pinnacle

Galvan touchdown earns Cactus spot in 5A title game 

By Anthony Perez

On Friday night in Scottsdale, the No. 4 seed Glendale Cactus (10-3) faced the No. 1 seed Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep (11-2), who had entered the game averaging 53.5 points in two playoff games.

But all Cactus needed was solid defense and a timely touchdown from senior running back Will Galvan to win the game, 21-17, and secure a spot in next Friday’s 5A state championship game at Sun Devil Stadium against No. 3 seed Gilbert Higley. Cactus advances to the title game in its first season in the conference, having moved up from 4A. 

Standout performers 

Cactus got contributions from all parts of its roster on Friday night as three different scorers found the end zone. Sophomore Gabriel Sotelo started the game with a bang when he took a long run to the end zone just 13 seconds into the contest, while sophomore Nikko Boncore-Montoya had Cactus’ lone touchdown catch of the night with 8:39 left in the first half. Galvan put the game on ice for his team with 4:08 to play in the game. 

It was much of the same story for Notre Dame Prep as it got its three scores from three different contributors. Senior wide receiver Hudson Stytch had his team’s first touchdown catch of the game, while sophomore Cooper Perry had a 12-yard catch to tie the game up at 14 with 3:57 to play in the third quarter. Junior Luke Liborio chipped in with a 38-yard field goal that gave Notre Dame Prep its lone lead of the night with 2:38 left in the third quarter. 

Highlight of the game 

Facing a third-and-one situation at their own 49 yard line with with about 8:00 to play in regulation, Notre Dame Prep was unable to convert for a first down. NDP then brought its punt unit on, but attempted a fake punt. Cooper Perry was unable to complete the pass on the fake, which gave Cactus possession of the ball with good field position. The result of that drive was Will Galvan’s go-ahead touchdown with 4:08 to play that proved to be the game-winner. 

Quote of the game 

“The first thing we want to do as a team is win the region. We accomplished that, and then when the playoffs happened, I’ve been doing this a long time and, you know, crazy things happen in the playoffs, but I knew we had a chance, and the work is not done yet but I knew we had this in us.” - Cactus head coach Brian Belles on whether he believed his team could reach the 5A state championship game on its first season in the conference. 

Up next

Cactus meets Higley in the 5A title game next Friday at 8 p.m., at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

4A: ALA-Gilbert North advances to championship game

By Lucas Gordon

In its first year competing at the 4A level, No. 1 seeded American Leadership Academy Gilbert North is heading to the state championship game after defeating No. 13 Lake Havasu. The Eagles proved they are ready to compete for the title after a dominating 42-21 win. 

Key Players

ALA Gilbert North's offense showed why it is one of the best in the state early in the game. On its first possession, the Eagles drove 80 yards for a touchdown to put them up by seven. 

After giving up a big play to Lake Havasu, ALA Gilbert North found itself tied midway through the first frame. The Eagles did not look back from that point.

Quarterback Adam Damante proved why he's one of the best in the state, as he quickly followed up Lake Havasu's touchdown drive with another touchdown. Damante finished the first half with 285 yards and four passing touchdowns. 

Of the four touchdowns, three of them came to Damante's number one option, wide receiver Brandon Phelps. Phelps hauled in a five-yard pass for a touchdown to get the scoring started for the night.

He would then catch touchdowns on back to back possessions late in the first and early in the second. Phelps ended the first half with eight catches for 110 yards. 

For Lake Havasu, running back Isaac Stopke kept his team in the game with his play. Stopke was a one-man wrecking crew, as he drove down the field late in the second to cut ALA Gilbert North's lead in half. 

Going into halftime, the Eagles lead was 14. Coming out of halftime, ALA Gilbert North made it clear that they were going to win the game. The defense for the Eagles shut down any offense Lake Havasu had going and the offense capitalized on any short field that the defense gave them.

This included a quick 50 -yard drive capped off by a Damante touchdown that put the Eagles up by 28. 

Lake Havasu put up a late-game touchdown.

Key Quotes

After the game, ALA Gilbert North head coach Randy Ricedorff, talked about how proud he was of his team for reaching the 4A championship game.

"These guys are our first group. They started in seventh grade and took a chance on a charter school. I couldn't be more happy."

Up Next

The Eagles will head to Tempe for the 4A state championship game at Sun Devil Stadium next Friday nightfor a rematch with No. 2 Snowflake. They previously defeated the Lobos in the regular season by a score of 31-21.

4A: Snowflake completes comeback, heads to title game

By: Alex Suarez

Snowflake will get a chance to win back to back championships -- this time, in another conference.

The Lobos overcame a 10-0 deficit against Canyon del Oro to advance to the 4A title game on Dec. 9, winning 16-13 in overtime, in a game played at Snowflake..

The Dorados settled for a field goal on their first possession of overtime and had a three point lead up 13-10. The Lobos won the game following three straight runs by Bradden Lewis, who scored from 1-yard out for the win.

After a defensive-oriented first half, Canyon Del Oro looked to be in control of the game as they scored an 81-yard touchdown on their second possession coming out of halftime.

The Lobos kicked a field goal and relied on their defense to get a stop before they were able to tie the game following a touchdown run by Lewis to send the game into overtime. 

Standout Performers

Lewis finished the game with two touchdown runs, his longest from 69-yards out. Daylon Beck had a 81-yard touchdown catch for Canyon del Oro.

Key Plays

Beck's 81-yard catch and run to get the first touchdown of the game for the Dorados in the third quarter. Lewis tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter following a 69-yard touchdown run. He then scored the game winning touchdown in overtime on a 1-yard touchdown run. 

Up next:

Snowflake will travel to Tempe next Friday to take on ALA Gilbert North for the 4A championship at 4 p.m., at Sun Devil Stadium. It's a rematch of a regular season game won by ALA Gilbert North, 31-21.

Pinnacle outlasts Casteel

By Ben Stapley

Pinnacle and Casteel put on an offensive spectacle Friday night in a 6A semifinal shootout, combining for 91 points and over 700 yards of offense.

In the end, it was Pinnacle outlasting host Casteel, 49-42, and advancing to next week’s 6A state title game against Highland, the defending 6A state champions.

Led by its All-American tight end/receiver, Pinnacle used an explosive aerial attack that had Casteel playing catch up for most of the night, and ultimately ending its season at 9-4.

Pinnacle (9-4) will take the same record to Sun Devil Stadium to face Highland, which beat Red Mountain Friday night to set up the championship game. Pinnacle fell to Highland 25-0 in an earlier regular season meeting.

Standout Performers

Pinnacle receiver Duce Robinson simply devastated Casteel’s secondary with his size, strength and speed. The 6-foot-6 inch senior put on a clinic and showed why he’s rated as the nation’s top tight end prospect, catching nine passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Wyatt Horton was efficient with his arm, throwing for 242 yards and five scores.

Three of Robinson’s four touchdown receptions came in the first half, as Pinnacle took a 28-14 lead. Robinson’s fourth score came on Pinnacle’s second offensive play of the third quarter, when he took a screen pass from Horton before shaking off tacklers and bursting 75 yards through traffic, giving Pinnacle a commanding 35-14 lead.

Tailback Jacobie Rucker added two rushing touchdowns for Pinnacle.

No Quit in Casteel

Despite the early third quarter deficit, Casteel made it a fight to the finish. Quarterback Landon Jury would lead the offense to four more scoring drives, the last of which came on a fourth down, 10 yard touchdown strike to Elijah Beamor.

That brought Casteel to within a touchdown (49-42), but Pinnacle recovered the onside kick before running out the clock.

Jury, Zeke Rodriguez, Austin Taylor, and Korbin Kubacki added rushing scores for Casteel, which piled up 172 second half rushing yards.

Quote of the Game

“What a great high school football game. Duce (Robinson) is such a special player, and you can’t say enough about Casteel for fighting and how they kept coming back.”—Pinnacle coach Dana Zupke