Wolves get second-half shutout in signature win
In each of the last two years, Desert Mountain posted impressive regular seasons winning 17 of 20 games. Instead of getting to try and win a 5A Conference title, the Wolves were lifted into the Open Division. Against 6A competition, Desert Mountain’s season ended with just one additional game each time.
Now, with the Open Division consisting solely of 6A teams, Desert Mountain gets a chance to compete within its own conference in the postseason. Despite an overhaul to the roster that has seen 16 new starters, the Wolves went 7-3 and have added two more victories to that total in the past two weeks. The latest being a 24-14 road win in Glendale at Cactus High School.
Cactus, the No. 8 seed, had a bye last week while Desert Mountain (the No. 9 seed) defeated Gilbert. Despite an offense that averaged 214 passing yards with 21 touchdowns, the Cobras abandoned that part of their game for most of the night. The starting quarterback during the season didn’t make an appearance until midway through the second quarter. A running back took the majority of the snaps from the Wildcat formation and, while it was enough to take a 14-7 halftime lead, the Wolves snuffed it out in the second half. Desert Mountain held the hosts to just 21 yards of offense after halftime and two first downs.
“This is probably the biggest signature win for us,” Desert Mountain head coach Conrad Hamilton said. “We have a lot of underclassmen. We only have 11 seniors. We were down at half. They had all the momentum and we outscored them 17-0 on their home turf. That was probably our best win since I’ve been here at Desert Mountain.”
The win advances DMHS to the quarterfinals where it will meet defending champion Desert Edge on the road in Goodyear next Friday.
The Standouts
Desert Mountain QB Grant Garduno
The 6-foot, 200-pound junior is a team captain and fought and scrapped all night. A pair of big plays made the difference in the second half. First, Garduno delivered a 54-yard strike to sophomore Kai Tschen for the tying touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Desert Mountain again found itself in third-and-long and from the 10-yard line, he scored up the middle on a keeper to put the game out of reach. Offensive coordinator Logan Radke called a good game and Garduno had three runs of 10+ yards.
Desert Mountain EDGE Davian Whitener
The junior gets a little run on offense as a tight end, but it’s on defense where he makes his mark. He finished the night with 2.5 sacks and was part of the crew making back-to-back QB takedowns when Cactus was forced to pass down 10 in the fourth quarter. Whitener’s 77-inch wingspan and 6-3, 215-pound frame help him get past offensive linemen. He was noticed by the Northeast Valley Region coaches, who named him to the First Team D-Line this week.
Desert Mountain DB Hassan Smith
The junior cornerback had to be more involved in the run with Cactus’ lack of passing. He came up with a sack on third down in the second quarter to mark the defense’s first three-and-out. Then, with the Cobras trying to catch up down the stretch, Smith sealed the win with his second interception of the season. He holds an offer from Northern Arizona and was up in Flagstaff for the Lumberjacks’ game last weekend. Smith is 6-1, 170 and one of the top corners in the state for the junior class.
Cactus RB Nathaniel Linares
Linares, a transfer from Centennial, played in the last five games for Cactus this season and scored a touchdown in each of them. The sophomore continued that streak in the first quarter with a short run that capped a 41-yard drive. All were runs by Linares, who took the direct snap from center. He finished the night with 18 carries for 118 yards and at 6-foot and 200 pounds, was hard to bring down. He could definitely be that workhorse back that CHS loves over the next two years.
Cactus WR Robert Bell
Bell didn’t catch any passes Friday night, leaving him at 952 yards for the season, but we salute him on his HS career. He transferred to CHS after spending his first two years at Thunderbird. Bell had 21 touchdowns this year, scoring 13 receiving, four rushing, and four more on kickoff returns. He hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass before, but on Friday night did just that. With the half winding down, Cactus caught the Wolves out of position and pitched the ball to Bell, who wound up and threw downfield to Jeremiah Angelo for a 43-yard touchdown with just four seconds remaining in the half for the lead. Bell did have a 19-yard run in the first quarter.
Every Play Counts
- On Desert Mountain’s first drive, an overthrown pass was intercepted by Cole Douglas. That gave Cactus the ball at the DMHS 41 and the Cobras scored a touchdown with the short field.
- Cactus RB Nathaniel Linares had a 24-yard run to get the ball down to the 11-yard line on the Cobras’ first possession.
- In the second quarter, senior Ryan McDonough returned a punt 29 yards to give the Wolves the ball at the Cactus 36-yard line. That advantageous field position led to the tying touchdown.
- Davian Whitener sacked the Cactus quarterback on third down to force a punt. Desert Mountain took over at midfield leading to the go-ahead touchdown.
- In a 14-14 game, Cactus tried a fake punt from its own 26-yard line. The pass went incomplete and the Wolves took over. Desert Mountain only moved it 2 yards, but that was enough for the go-ahead field goal.
- Desert Mountain converted a fourth-and-one in the fourth quarter with a QB sneak by Garduno. The Wolves ticked off more than six minutes with a TD drive to put it out of reach.
- Hassan Smith intercepted Cactus’ last-ditch effort to come back in the closing minutes.
Box Score
Wolves 24, Cobras 14
| DM | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| CAC | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
First Quarter
CAC – Nathaniel Linares 2 yard run (Aiden Prinz kick), 8:01
Second Quarter
DM – Easton Conner 2 yard run (Koen Broadley kick), 2:38
CAC – Jeremiah Angulo 54 yard pass from Robert Bell (Prinz kick), 0:04
Third Quarter
DM – Kai Tschen 54 yard pass from Grant Garduno (Broadley kick), 5:55
DM – Broadley 41 yard FG, 1:03
Fourth Quarter
DM – Garduno 10 yard run (Broadley kick), 5:11
Team Statistics
| Desert Mountain | Cactus | |
| First Downs | 11 | 9 |
| Rushes-Yards | 31-87 | 35-125 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 10-15-1 | 2-8-1 |
| Pass Yards | 131 | 61 |
| Total Yards | 218 | 186 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 10-90 | 5-42 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Desert Mountain – Conner 8-34, Cratty 10-32, Garduno 12-25, Mizan 1-(minus 4). Cactus – Linares 18-118, Bell 3-24, Angulo 7-18, Lee 4-(minus 7), Berlin 3-(minus 28).
Passing
Desert Mountain – Garduno 10-15-1, 131 yards. Cactus – Bell 1-1-0, 43 yards, Berlin 1-5-1, 18 yards, Linares 0-1-0, 0 yards, Marrufo 0-1-0, 0 yards.
Receiving
Desert Mountain – Tschen 1-54, Dowd 3-34, Justice 2-21, Cratty 2-12, Whitener 1-5, Conner 1-5. Cactus – Angulo 1-43, Linares 1-18.
Sound Off
Desert Mountain QB Grant Garduno on how hard the team has worked to get here: “We’ve worked really hard since January. I’m really proud of the way we’re playing right now. It’s on to the quarterfinals and then we go from there.”
Cactus head coach Brian Belles on what he’ll remember about this team: “The Burkhard twins (Jayson and Aiden), Jayden Campos, Jordan Marrufo. Robert Bell gets all the headlines, but we have a lot of seniors who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into this thing. It’s hard any time you lose in the playoffs.”
Desert Mountain DE Davian Whitener on if Cactus caught them off guard with the offense in the first half: “They did. We did not expect that. At halftime, we were talking about that we hadn’t seen that heavy look. We were getting game plan thrown in our blitzes trying to get up open for the sacks. We ran one of our blitzes, got me wide open, and that was game.”
Desert Mountain head coach Conrad Hamilton on next week’s matchup with Desert Edge: “Our state championship game is next Friday. We get a chance to put Desert Edge to the test. Everybody’s been talking about how good they are. They’re the No. 1 team in the state in 5A. They’ve got 15-16 Division I guys. This is our opportunity to go play against the best and we’re excited for the next challenge.”
Next Week
Desert Mountain (9-3) was the only road team to win in the 5A second round. The Wolves will play at Desert Edge (11-0). The Scorpions posted their fifth consecutive blowout victory on Friday (all by 35+ points) with a 46-7 win over Cienega. This will be the first-ever meeting between DEHS and the Wolves.
Cactus (8-3) has completed its season. Belles said the future is bright for the Cobras as they had 137 kids out for football this year at a school with an enrollment of just 1,048. The Freshman team lost just one game and some of those sophomores will be ready to make the jump to varsity. Cactus has compiled a record of 35-15 in Belles’ four seasons, but has been unable to master Desert Mountain falling to the Wolves for the fourth time in as many years. The Cobras did extend their streak to 25 consecutive years of making the playoffs.
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