Pioneers start fast, then hold on for road win
WEEKLY BLOG: 10/14/22
When the current Pinnacle seniors were sophomores, their pandemic 2020 season ended on Chaparral's field. It was a regular season loss (52-10) costing the Pioneers a playoff spot and awarding one to the Firebirds (who went on to win the 6A Conference championship that year). As juniors, they fought to the end with Chaparral in the 6A quarterfinals. But once again, they fell on the road (41-36).
Fast forward to Friday night, and in what was likely their last chance to win a game at Chaparral Stadium, the Pioneers finally prevailed. The stakes were large with Pinnacle ranked at No. 5 in the initial AIA Open rankings. The game did not disappoint as the Pioneers jumped out to a 20-0 first-quarter lead and then made a key fourth-quarter goal-line stand to hold off Chaparral, 27-21.
It was the first-ever road win for Pinnacle in this series. The Pioneers were 1-11 against CHS in the series and were winless in seven attempts on the road. Head coach Dana Zupke was on the sidelines for six of those in what had become the Pioneers' house of horrors.
"I'm not going to diminish the importance of it," Zupke, who is in his 20th season with PHS and has 141 victories, said. "I knew we were going to come out and get a dogfight. To be able to close out a game that we had control of and be able to win, I think that's good for our program."
One of those seniors is wide receiver Duce Robinson, who had seven catches for 104 yards and had a touchdown erased via penalty. He said the team remembered the memories from last year and carried them into the game.
"A lot of guys on our team played about as well as they could play," Robinson said of the 2021 playoff game. "Seeing those guys walk off in tears, that stuck with our whole team. We just tried to hold on to that and use it today."
Pinnacle (5-1 overall, 1-0 6A Northeast Valley Region) came in averaging 36 points per game and started as well as you can with four straight touchdown drives. The Pioneers amassed 216 total yards of offense in the first half.
On its opening drive of the game, Pinnacle sophomore quarterback Wyatt Horton went 3-of-3 for 47 yards to set up a Jacobie Rucker eight-yard run for the game's first points. The touchdown was the fifth for the senior this season.
Things got even better for the Pioneers as, not only did they hold Chaparral to a three-and-out on its first series, Pinnacle blocked the ensuing punt and recovered it at the 3-yard line. From point blank range, Rucker quickly added his second TD run and the Pioneers had a 13-0 lead.
On its next possession, Pinnacle had to drive the length of the field. Starting at its 20, Horton's passes and Rucker's runs kept moving the chains. A 24-yard pass to Robinson got the Pioneers to the 1-yard line. This time, it was Mason O'Rourke doing the honors and Pinnacle led 20-0 after a quarter.
"Our coaches had scripted plays that we saw from film," Horton said. "We're just doing what we're doing and we're executing."
All four of Pinnacle's victories this season had come via blowout (25+ points). It looked like the Pioneers were on their way to another one. Chaparral, on the other hand, had played four of its six games to margins of less than a touchdown. The Firebirds trailed Desert Mountain last month by 23 points and had a furious rally, but came up short (30-26). Chaparral started its comeback with a 59-yard pass play from sophomore Bryce Herges to Cody Judge.
That drive for the Firebirds resulted in points early in the second quarter as Herges, on fourth-and-nine from the 14-yard line, threw a dart to Plas Johnson, who hauled it in for the score. It was Johnson's fifth touchdown of the season and got the Firebirds on the board.
Pinnacle made it four scores (all TDs) in four possessions as it utilized a pair of end arounds from Robinson of 14 and 10 yards (one to each side) to get close. This time from short range, it was Horton calling his own number to run into the end zone untouched for a 27-7 halftime lead.
"They're really good on offense," Chaparral head coach Brent Barnes said. "Not too proud of our effort with the ease at which they were doing it."
Herges played much of the first half for Chaparral. The CHS coaching staff made a switch and returned to Miles VandenHeuvel for the second half. The dual-threat entered the night leading the Firebirds in rushing through the first six games with 442 of the team's 543-yard total. He led CHS on an 80-yard drive that took nearly half of the third quarter. Keenan Bond scored a touchdown on a four-yard run to cut the margin to 27-14.
"That's Miles," Barnes said. "It felt like we needed to get a spark. We wanted to set the tone in the second half that we were going to play tougher and more physical."
After a long drive, and having seized momentum, a three-and-out stop would have been ideal for Chaparral. Instead, Pinnacle converted on a third-and-seven in its own end of the field and eventually reached the 4-yard line. A penalty backed it up to the 19 and the possession ended with an interception. The Firebirds had the ball back as the last seconds of the third quarter ticked down.
Chaparral (3-4, 0-1) converted twice on fourth down. Once with a keeper by VandenHeuvel that went for 25 yards around the edge and again on a pass to Johnson, which brought the Firebirds back to the red zone. Pinnacle held tight though, and on fourth-and-goal, the Pioneers stopped a quarterback keeper at the 3-yard line with just under four minutes left.
"I think that's a testament to our unsung defense," Zupke said. "There's not a bunch of stars on our defense, but they play hard and do what we ask them to do. Making that goal-line stand, I think, was the key point in the game."
Chaparral got the ball back, but now it was running out of time. The combination of quarterback runs and short passes was taking up time. VandenHeuvel was 15-of-17 passing in the game for 126 yards (just over eight yards per completion). He finished with 13 straight completions.
It wasn't with either one of those that the Firebirds drew closer. It was a trick play, a double pass. VandenHeuvel passed it (backwards) to Gavin Mesa. The receiver (who is a former quarterback) fired a bomb deep and it was caught by Johnson. Johnson finished with 13 catches for 155 yards (two touchdowns). The margin was down to six, but there was just 1:43 remaining. With only one timeout remaining, the Firebirds had to attempt an onside kick. It was recovered by Robinson and the Pioneers ran out the clock.
"I'm really proud of our guys," Robinson said. "Our coaches had a great game plan. Our defense came in (in the second half) and that's about all you can ask for them."
Robinson is a four-star prospect from Rivals. He will likely play tight end with his 6-6, 230-pound frame in college. He has 25 offers and has taken official visits to USC, Texas, Alabama, and Georgia. He said he is planning to use his final one to Oregon in November. Robinson wants to wait until he's used all five visits before making a college decision. He is a three-sport athlete and is not planning to graduate early in December. Instead, he will be suiting up for the Pioneers in both basketball and baseball (another sport he could also play in college) and graduate in May.
For Chaparral, this was another agonizing loss. Of the Firebirds' four defeats, three have come by three, four, and six points.
"You can't dig holes like that and try to get out of it," Barnes said. "They still moved the ball, ate clock, and we've got to finish at the goal line."
In the second half, Chaparral outgained the Pioneers 216-88. In the passing game, it was 143-19 as PHS attempted just six passes after the halftime break.
Chaparral will now have its bye week. The schedule doesn't get any easier as its next game is at rival Saguaro (another team currently ranked in the Open). The Sabercats (3-3) will face Highland next Friday before renewing its series with the Firebirds.
Barnes called Saguaro, "probably, the best team on our schedule".
"We have to figure it out," Barnes said. "We have to find a way to play a tougher and more physical brand of football."
Pinnacle will have its last three home games all in succession starting next Friday in North Phoenix against Brophy (1-5). After the Broncos, Pinnacle plays Highland and Saguaro before finishing up with a trip to Centennial. If the Pioneers are to return to the Open Division bracket for the first time since 2019, they will certainly have earned it.
First Quarter:
Pinn - Jacobie Rucker 8 yard run (kick failed), 9:53
Pinn - Rucker 3 yard run (Cooper King kick), 8:10
Pinn - Mason O'Rourke 1 yard run (King kick), 1:40
Second Quarter:
Chap - Plas Johnson 14 yard pass from Bryce Herges (Keegan Shank kick), 11:36
Pinn - Wyatt Horton 2 yard run (King kick), 8:33
Third Quarter:
Chap - Keenan Bond 4 yard run (Shank kick), 6:29
Fourth Quarter:
Chap - Johnson 35 yard pass from Gavin Mesa (Shank kick), 1:43
