By Brittany Bowyer for West Valley Preps

GILBERT – The #4 Cactus Cobras return to the 5A state championship game after a year off, defeating top-ranked ALA-Gilbert North on the road, 38-35.

It was a tough battle that came down to the final minute of the game, but the Cobras prevailed and returned to another title game.

“I just think they believe in themselves,” Cactus coach Brian Belles said. “We hide everything from the outside. The kids trusted us, we trusted them, and that’s what this program is about.”

Just like two years ago, the Cobras knocked off a top seed and made a surprise appearance in the 5A title game. The 2022 Cobras defeated #1 Notre Dame Prep 21-17 in Scottsdale.

“Nobody thought we were going to win,” senior receiver Julian Stubblefield said. “Especially since they’re a one-setter, it’s an hour’s drive for us and no one thought we’d win. It’s just a blessing, really.”

Cactus (10-3) faces its bitterest rival for the 5A title and looks to avenge a regular-season loss.

The No. 4 seed will play No. 7 seed Desert Edge on Friday, Dec. 6, at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe at 8 p.m.

“It’s all just a blessing, it still feels crazy,” Stubblefiled said. “The last time we played Desert Edge we lost to them. Hopefully the whole team can be ready to play a good game because that’s our legacy, you know?”

The Cobras knew they would have a lot of work ahead of them facing such a strong team. Belles said the Eagles are exactly what they thought they were.

“They’re a tough, disciplined football team,” Belles said. “They battled in a tough region, they beat two open teams this season… A big shout out to those guys for fighting the whole game, but I also take my hat off to my kids.”

At the start of the game, Cactus got the ball first and wasted no time getting on the board first. Junior quarterback Antonio Casias was able to find junior Julian Mocivaiz for the touchdown. The extra point attempt was good and made it 7-0 Cactus with 10:07 left in the first quarter.

However, ALA-Gilbert North had an answer when Kody Thorley punched in from the one-yard line and cut the lead. The extra point attempt was good and tied the game 7:21 into the first quarter.

On the following possession, the Cobras had to punt, but Isaiah Moncivaiz was able to recover a fumble from Cactus at the Eagles’ 26-yard line. From there, the Cobras were able to work their way into the end zone and ended the drive with a one-yard run by Tristan Varga. The kick was good and gave Cactus a 14-7 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter.

“We came in with this underdog mentality and just had to do what we had to do,” Varga said.

The teams traded punts. However, on the Eagles’ ensuing possession, they managed to tie the game with a 22-yard touchdown run by quarterback Conner White and a successful attempt at an extra point. 8:54 minutes before halftime the total was 14.

Cactus moved the ball and had reached the red zone when pressure from the quarterback resulted in a fumble. It was recovered on the 27th by Colton Beardall of ALA-GN.

While the Eagles wasted as much time as possible, they continued to move the chains down the field. After reaching the red zone, the home team settled for a field goal with 4.9 seconds left and the score was 17:14 at halftime.

ALA-GN got the ball out of halftime and quickly scored. After an explosive 28-yard pass from White to Adriyen Joe, the Eagles executed a trick play that resulted in a 49-yard touchdown caught by Isaac Massey. The kick was good and extended the lead to 24-14 with 10:42 left in the third period.

However, just 40 seconds later, Cactus responded with another touchdown run from Varga, cutting the lead to 24-21 ALA-GN.

After the Eagles were forced to punt, the Cobras experienced a noticeable shift in momentum. In just three snaps, Cactus was once again in the end zone for Vargas’ third touchdown of the night as the Cobras regained the Cactus lead, 28-24.

“We have a lot to be grateful for,” Belles said. “Many of these children were not born with silver spoons in their mouths. They had to deal with a lot of adversity. I think we still have a lot to be grateful for. We still play, we still have each other and we can do this for another week.”

The Cactus defense was strong on the next play, forcing ALA-GN to settle for a field goal. With 4:18 left in the third, the Eagles had cut their lead to 28-27.

Cactus had to settle for a field goal on the ensuing drive, extending the lead to 31-27 with 1:13 left in the third.

However, the defense was once again strong and did its job, forcing the Eagles to punt to open the fourth quarter.

“It’s a blessing,” Varga said. “But the work is not done yet. Our job is to win the state.”

Cactus pushed down the field again as the Cobras were held off by Stockton Dye at the 3-yard line. ALA-GN went for a fourth down deep in Cobra territory on the ensuing drive, but failed to convert, turning the ball over at the Cactus 15-yard line with about seven minutes left.

Cactus managed to get all the way to the 6 before stalling, eventually prevailing on fourth down and also failing to convert. The Cobras handed the ball back to the Eagles with 4:20 left.

But on the next snap, senior cornerback Gabriel Sotelo ran back 21 yards for a pick-six. The kick was good and extended the lead to 38-27.

ALA-Gilbert North wasn’t done yet, however, and responded with another touchdown pass from White to Massey. To cut the lead, the Eagles went for two and converted a pass from White to Joe, making the score 38-35.

The Eagles forced a quick three-pointer and got the ball back with 2:55 left.

With just 1:02 left, the Cactus defense came up big with an interception at the six-yard line by Sotelo to seal the win.

“Our defense really rose to the challenge,” Belles said. “We didn’t do everything right, but you have to give credit to the other team, they’re a good football team. We have bent, but we have not broken. Our kids did their best and I couldn’t be prouder.”