It took a while for No. 10 Desert Vista’s defense to reach its full potential.
But after closing the regular season with four consecutive wins and shutting down No. 7 Mesa Mountain Point, 28-14, on the road in Friday’s opening round of the 2016 6A playoffs, it looks like the Thunder may have all the ingredients to produce more upset victories.
The Thunder (7-4) behind cornerback Alijah Gammage’s two interceptions helped stymie the Toros to the point that they managed just one offensive touchdown and were shutout in the second half.
It’s nothing new for a Desert Vista defensive unit that did not allow more than 27 points in any of its final 10 games and were one of just two teams to keep No. 1 Mountain Pointe under 30 points in the regular season.
On Friday, Desert Vista had plenty enough balance to advance. Lefty quarterback Nick Thomas threw for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Lelon Dillard added a rushing score.
The victory sets up a rematch from the 2015 quarterfinals against No. 2 Chandler. The Wolves beat the Thunder, 34-14, last season.
More scores from 6A
No. 5 Brophy Prep 52, No. 12 Pinnacle 42. Noah Pittenger’s 270 yards and three touchdowns helped Brophy snap a three-game losing streak and advance to at least the second round of the playoffs for the 13th year in a row. The Broncos, who have made a name for themselves thanks to a rugged defense, outscored Pinnacle in a game that hardly resembled the week zero meeting between the two schools. Back then the Broncos shutdown a Pinnacle team absent their star quarterback, Spencer Rattler. On Friday, Rattler nearly rallied the Pioneers. He threw two touchdown passes in the second half and after a blocked punt led to a third score, Pinnacle trailed, 45-42. That’s when Pittenger answered with a touchdown run to cap what amounted to the game-clinching drive for Brophy in the final minutes. Brophy (8-3) moves on to host No. 12 Red Mountain next week. Pinnacle wraps up their season with a 6-6 record.
No. 6 Hamilton 47, No. 11 Tucson 30. The Huskies set up next week’s rematch with Perry by racing out to a 31-0 lead before halftime. Tucson recovered to score 30 of the final 46 points, but the early hole was too deep to dig out of. Hamilton running back Jawhar Johnson finished with 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Tucson’s D.J. Hinton had a team-high 61 yards on nine carries, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that cut the Hamilton lead to 31-16. The Badgers won the Southern Region title and finish the season 6-5. Hamilton (7-4) moves on to face Perry next week. It’s the second matchup of the season between the two Premier Region schools. The first ended with Perry defeating Hamilton by a record-tying margin, 55-21.
No. 8 Desert Ridge 34, No. 9 Westview 26 Jaguars running back Donjae Logan’s third and final touchdown of the night sealed Desert Ridge’s first round win over Westview. Logan’s touchdown came with 5:37 to go and extended the Desert Ridge lead to eight. Logan found a way to score at the most opportune times. His first touchdown, a 50-yard scamper, gave the Jaguars (8-3) a 7-6 lead and after Westview scored in the second quarter, Logan answered with a 7-yarder to make it 14-12. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Knights (8-3) and marked the second time since 2012 they have been eliminated from the postseason by Desert Ridge. The first loss was a 14-7 defeat in the quarterfinals in 2012. The Jaguars will play at No. 1 Mountain Pointe next week.
