WEEKLY BLOG: 11/19/21

It was back in April that Zach Wren was named the starting quarterback at Pinnacle following the transfer of last year's starter. On Friday night in North Phoenix at Sandra Day O'Connor High School, when it counted most, Wren delivered his most productive game in a thriller that Pioneer fans won't soon forget.

The Pinnacle senior passed for a career-high 332 yards, including two touchdown throws to Myles Libman as the Pioneers edged O'Connor 32-29 in the first round of the 6A Conference playoffs.

"I'm so proud of him," Pinnacle head coach Dana Zupke said. "He stayed level. This is the kid we saw grow and develop over the summer. He showed it tonight in the most critical time."

It was Pinnacle's first road playoff win in school history (opened in 2001). Perhaps it worked out well that the opponent was O'Connor as the Pioneers are now 9-0 all-time against the Eagles.

In front of a large crowd and a frenzied OC Bird's Nest student section, Pinnacle made big plays on both defense and offense on each team's second play from scrimmage. First, Carson Tininenko intercepted a tipped pass. Wren quickly turned that into points with a deep pass to Libman that went for 70 yards giving the Pioneers a 7-0 lead less than a minute in.

"I didn't think they'd give me my shots with my guys," Wren said. "Duce (Robinson), Myles (Libman), Baylor (Adams), and Chris (Cappellini). They're all playmakers."

O'Connor (6-5) answered with a drive that lasted 14 plays and went 80 yards taking more than six minutes off the clock. Linebacker Brandon Craddock came in on offense in a fourth-and-two situation from the Pioneers' 30-yard line. He bulled 13 yards up the middle to keep the chains moving. Sophomore Nathan Bayus scored on an eight-yard run, but the extra point missed and the Eagles trailed by one.

On the Eagles' next possession, it looked like they were going to punt. But, Jace Snyder is not only the team's punter, he's also their quarterback and he completed a pass to Ryan Davis for 41 yards. That gamble turned into points with a five-yard run from junior Izik Durazo. A try for two failed, but O'Connor went on top for the first time, 12-7.

Pinnacle showed its depth at receiver. If teams put their best defenders on Robinson, one of the state's most recruited juniors, or Libman, another junior with offers from Arizona and a pair of Ivy League schools, Wren can find other players like Cappellini, who hauled in a 42-yard pass to set up a short run up the middle by Jacobie Rucker to put the Pioneers back on top, 14-12.

O'Connor runs an offense that is a combination of the Wing and the Spread. The Eagles will sometimes switch back and forth during the same drive. In this one, SDOHS went more Wing. They huddled, took time off the clock, and kept making first downs. In a possession that lasted more than 10 minutes, O'Connor took the lead near the end of the half on a 33-yard field goal by sophomore Jordan Westrich, the team's backup kicker.

In the first half, O'Connor ran 39 plays to just 12 for Pinnacle. It was clear the Eagles were trying to keep the Pioneers' offense on the sideline. Still, PHS scored fast and had 217 yards in the first half (216 passing).

"We were moving the ball, but you get frustrated," Zupke said. "That's what that offense does. It keeps your offense off the field."

We had our fourth (and final) lead change of the game in Pinnacle's initial possession of the third quarter. It was set up with a kickoff return just past midfield, a 17-yard scramble by Wren and a 27-yard pass to Libman.

Things went back and forth in the third quarter. Bryan Dominguez-Perez went over the 100-yard mark (he would finish with 150 on 33 carries) with a 40-yard run around the right side to tie the game. Wren connected with Libman for his 15th touchdown pass of the season to go back up.

O'Connor was forced to punt, but got the ball back with an interception from Blake Ware at the PHS 30-yard line. On fourth down, Snyder ran the ball, then went with an option pitch to Dominguez-Perez, who took it in from the five-yard line to knot things up again, this time at 29-29 heading to the fourth quarter.

Pinnacle's special teams gave it a short field as the kickoff was brought back to the Eagles' 30-yard line. Through the first 10 games and three quarters of the 2021 football season, the Pioneers had scored 248 points. None of them had come via a field goal. As a matter of fact, PHS had not even attempted one until Jackson Green lined up for and booted a 29-yarder with just over 10 minutes to go.

"We gave them too many opportunities," O'Connor head coach Brian Cole said. "They had a couple long kickoff returns that put them in position."

While there would be no more scoring, there was no shortage of drama.

O'Connor faced a fourth-and-five at the Pinnacle 28, which it would have went for. However, a personal foul penalty backed the ball up to the 43 and the Eagles punted.

Pinnacle (4-7) tried to win the game with an extreme gamble. Facing a fourth-and-one at its own 24 with 2:35 remaining, the Pioneers went for it and the pass was incomplete.

Needing just a field goal, the defense gave O'Connor a gift with a short field. But, an unsportsmanlike penalty backed the Eagles up to the 42-yard line. Snyder completed a pass to Brevin Czosnyka at the 22. Playing their second-string kicker, the SDO coaches felt a 39-yarder was out of his range, so it went for it on fourth-and-eight. Snyder scrambled, but was two yards short on his run.

The O'Connor defense stood tall again and used its timeouts to force a punt from the 11-yard line. It went out of bounds at the Pinnacle 32 and the Eagles had one last chance with 35 seconds left.

The hero for this one would be senior linebacker Cole Franklin, who intercepted a pass near the 10-yard line to preserve the victory.

"They were going to run deep passes," Franklin said. "I'm thinking flood to the outside. I read pass, dropped back. I see the quarterback trying to roll out, the wide receiver comes up behind me, trailing to the sideline, so I just went for the ball."

The team's conditioning helped with all the plays the defense had to be on the field for (63 plays). Franklin said it starts in practice.

"Intensity in practice makes us better," Franklin said. "It makes us work harder."

Wren put his team in position to win and was thankful for the defense to hold on to it.

"My first-ever playoff game," Wren said. "Our defense stepped up huge. All year, they've been helping us out. We finally helped them out."

Much of last Saturday on the social media boards focused on all the teams with losing records making the 6A playoffs (there were six of them). Pinnacle played nine schools that made the postseason and defeated Tolleson (who many wanted in), 49-7. Despite its 3-7 mark, the Pioneers had wins over 5A No. 2 Salpointe and 6A No. 13 Centennial.

"It goes into showing that we belong here," Zupke said. "There was some chatter and we proved tonight, being a lower seed, and winning one shows that."

Next up, Pinnacle will face No. 2 seed Chaparral. The Pioneers just faced the Firebirds last Friday and were blanked 42-0. In that one, PHS was able to move the ball (17 completed passes), but wasn't able to punch one in. They'll get another chance.

"I think it's a great opportunity for the kids," Zupke said. "They're a great program. We have an opportunity to give a better showing than we did at the end of the regular season."

For O'Connor, it was the end of a five-game winning streak. In the first half, the Eagles faced a murderer's row of opponents. Basha, Chandler, Chaparral, and Highland. Two Open Division teams and the top two seeds in the 6A bracket. After that, the Eagles rolled through region play a perfect 5-0, punctuated by a 28-3 win vs. Mountain Ridge.

"I thought we got better as the year went on and that's all you can ask for," Cole said.

Cole said the Eagles will have 35-37 players coming back and have a lot returning on both the offense and defensive lines (three of the four starters on the DL).

First Quarter:
Pinn - Myles Libman 70 yard pass from Zach Wren (Jackson Green kick), 11:03
SDO - Nathan Bayus 8 yard run (kick failed), 4:43
SDO - Izik Durazo 5 yard run (run failed), 0:39
Second Quarter:
Pinn - Jacobie Rucker 2 yard run (Green kick), 11:23
SDO - Jordan Westrich 33 yard FG, 0:58
Third Quarter:
Pinn - Rucker 3 yard run (Duce Robinson pass from Wren), 10:58
SDO - Brian Dominguez-Perez 40 yard run (Westrich kick), 8:49
Pinn - Libman 29 yard pass from Wren (Green kick), 5:39
SDO - Dominguez-Perez 4 yard run (Westrich kick), 0:25
Fourth Quarter:
Pinn - Green 29 yard FG, 10:15