CAVECREEK
– As the fourth quarter came to a close, Cactus Shadows’
head coach Chad DeGrenier moved to the end of the sideline
by himself and quietly pumped his fist. It was a private
acknowledgment that the Falcons were one win away from a
state title and the completion of a remarkable two‑year
turnaround.
“To
go through an 0‑10 season and to have the kids believe
in you means a lot,” DeGrenier said. “To have a complete
180 in 2 years is awesome and I’m so happy for the kids
and the staff.”
Friday
night Cactus Shadows relied on an aggressive, opportunistic
defense as well as timely contributions on offense and special
teams to defeat the Washington Rams 35‑12 in the 4A‑Division
II semifinals. The win puts Cactus Shadows (14‑0)
in the title game for the first time and is just two years
removed from a winless season.
After
the Falcon offense turned the ball over on its first possession,
the defense started the scoring against Washington when
defensive end Trace Stephens forced a fumble while sacking
Ram quarterback Jon Bonner in his own end zone. Bobby Wolf
recovered for Cactus Shadows, giving them the early lead.
Washington’s
next possession ended with another turnover, this time with
Stephens recovering the fumble.
“The
last game against them I played really badly,” Stephens
said. “I just wanted to come out and play big tonight right
away.”
Washington’s
defense was also impressive, but while able to create two
first half turnovers, it couldn’t keep the Falcon offense
out of the end zone as Kyle Royer put Cactus Shadows up
14‑0 at halftime with a short touchdown run.
The
first play of the second half was electrifying as Kyle Watkins
took the kickoff back 83 yards before being knocked out
of bounds.
“We
had to make a big play since our offense wasn’t doing a
lot,” Watkins said. “I knew if we had good field position
we could take it in.”
Dane
Andrews did punch it in from the 2‑yard line putting
the Falcons up 21‑0 to end the third quarter.
Cactus
Shadows’ first fourth quarter possession saw Falcon quarterback
Philip Aholt add to his state record career touchdown total
with a 4‑yard toss to Watkins.
Washington’s
Bowman was finally able to get the Rams on the board with
two late scores, but Cactus Shadows sealed the victory with
a run‑heavy drive culminating in an Eric Gorraiz 8‑yard
TD jaunt.
The
win gives Cactus Shadows another playoff match up against
an opponent they beat in the regular season. The Falcons
knocked off the Higley Knights 34‑10 on September
29.
“The
are big and they are tough,” said DeGrenier. “We will have
our work cut out for us. We are going to have to shut them
down and our offense will have to come to play.”
The
title game will be played at 1 p.m., December 4, at University
of Phoenix Stadium.
