Video wrap up with Adam Beadle & Chris Eaton
The only factor that was going to hinder No. 9 Desert Mountain’s chances of winning its first-ever state championship against No. 6 Canyon View on Friday night inside Mountain America Stadium in Tempe was its own wrongdoing.
By the time the clock hit zero, and celebrations began to ensue, Desert Mountain had totaled 17 penalties for 130 yards in a 21-7 win.
Despite the win, head coach Conrad Hamilton wasn’t pleased when his team took off the tops of Gatorade bottles and began soaking him with water.
The way the Wolves (12-3) claimed the 5A title may not have been the sharpest, but after 30 years, they finally did it.
Thanks to an excellent defensive performance, led by senior defensive back Ryan McDonough, the Wolves got past the Canyon View offensive line nine times on the night for sacks.
With total control of possession throughout the game (almost 2:1) and not allowing Canyon View to run more than four plays on any of its offensive drives except for its first, Desert Mountain now has bragging rights in 5A.
Canyon View (11-3) entered on an offensive roll, averaging 41 points in its first three playoff wins in school history. The Wolves were more than up to the task as they pressured the QB all night long.
McDonough had 3.5 of those sacks along with a forced fumble and a pass breakup. He was named both the Defensive Player of the Game by the media and the Fiesta Bowl MVP.
The Standouts
Desert Mountain CB Ryan McDonough
The senior capped his three-year varsity career with a memorable performance. When the defensive backs blitzed, Canyon View wasn’t able to cover the incoming rushers. McDonough had 3.5 sacks and recovered a fumble. The recovery came on the Jaguars’ first drive after they had crossed into the red zone. A return specialist as well, McDonough had 28 yards on his lone kick return and 72 total yards on five punt returns. A Georgetown signee this week, he will be continuing on to play football on Saturdays. McDonough carries a 3.96 GPA in the classroom as well.
Desert Mountain RB Easton Conner
The 5-11, 185-pound sophomore running back was named the game’s Offensive MVP. Conner finished with 21 carries for 95 yards and also caught a couple passes (for 23 yards). He’s a tough runner that is hard to bring down. When the play wasn’t whistled dead right away, his second efforts were productive in extending plays.
Desert Mountain QB Grant Garduno
The Wolves will be returning their QB1 next year because Garduno is just a junior. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On one of them, he was drilled as he released the ball for a score to Jaden Lindley. A multi-sport athlete, Garduno doesn’t just throw footballs, he’s a pitcher on the Wolves baseball team too. Standing 6-foot and 200 pounds, he threw the pass that resulted in the big play of the night for Desert Mountain, a 49-yard strike to Kai Tschen to break a 7-7 tie in the third quarter. Another excellent student, Garduno holds a 4.83 weighted GPA.
Desert Mountain EDGE/TE Davian Whitener
The junior linebacker made plays on both sides of the ball. On that dominating defense, he had six tackles, which included a pair of sacks (21 yards of loss) and forced a fumble. Speaking of fumbles, Whitener was “Johnny on the Spot” to recover a DMHS fumble on the first drive of the game. The ball was fumbled into the end zone and Whitener landed on it for the game’s first score and his fourth TD of the season. He also caught one pass five yards from the line of scrimmage and rumbled 41 more yards for a big gain. He’s 6-3 with a 76-inch wingspan to help get to the QB.
Canyon View S Brady Grizzell
The 6-2, 195-pound senior was the Desert West Region Defensive Player of the Year and had a game-high 14 tackles (10 solo) for the Jaguars. Grizzell also had a forced fumble and a pass breakup. A certified ball hawk (six interceptions this season), he did his best to keep help the defense keep CVHS in the game while the offense had its share of struggles.
Every Play Counts
- On Desert Mountain’s first drive, Grant Garduno completed a 17-yard pass to Easton Conner on third-and-17 to keep the possession going. That play began on the 8-yard line.
- On that same drive, the Wolves faced a fourth-and-six at the Canyon View 26-yard line. Garduno threw a pass to Isaiah Justice for eight yards and a first down to keep the chains moving and the clock rolling. That drive ultimately went for 18 plays and a touchdown and took up all but 47 seconds of the opening quarter.
- Canyon View had its best drive of the night on its initial possession. The Jaguars got to the 13-yard line, but fumbled. Ryan McDonough recovered for the Wolves.
- In the second quarter, Desert Mountain punted from its own 16-yard line. The punt only went eight yards and there was a five-yard penalty tacked on allowing the Jaguars to start at the Wolves’ 19-yard line. Canyon View turned that into its only TD of the night.
- In the third quarter, with the game tied at 7, Desert Mountain went for it on a fourth-and-one from the Canyon View 21-yard line. Tiki Teeples made the solo tackle for a two-yard loss to end the drive.
- On a quarterback run midway through the third quarter, Canyon View’s Brady Scott was hit hard and shaken up. He got up and walked off on his own power. He was relieved for the rest of that drive, but played in the next two possessions before calling it a night prior to the end of the third quarter.
- Jeneral Solomon broke up a pass for Desert Mountain on third down. It was the fourth straight three-and-out for the Wolves’ defense (they would have three more to extend that streak to 7).
- Kaika Solomon had a sack for Desert Mountain on the last play of the third quarter to end another Canyon View drive.
- Another Canyon View drive ended with a sack midway through the fourth quarter. This time it was Connor Ring with the takedown.
Box Score
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F |
| Desert Mountain | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Canyon View | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
First Quarter
- 2027 TE Davian Whitener recovers 2028 RB Easton Conner fumble in the end zone (Desert Mountain)(7-0, 0:47)
Second Quarter
- 2026 QB Brady Scott TD pass to 2026 WR Brandon Catalan (Canyon View). (7-7, 3:12)
Third Quarter
- 2027 QB Grant Garduno throws a 49-yard TD to 2028 WR Kai Tschen (Desert Mountain)(14-7, 8:46)
Fourth Quarter
- 2027 QB Grant Garduno passing TD to 2027 WR Jaden Lindley (Desert Mountain) (21-7, 10:19)
Team Statistics
| Desert Mountain | Canyon View | |
| First Downs | 14 | 10 |
| Rushes-Yards | 38-117 | 21-(minus 46) |
| Comp-Att-Int | 15-23-0 | 14-33-0 |
| Pass Yards | 170 | 134 |
| Total Yards | 287 | 88 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 2 |
| Penalties | 17-130 | 6-32 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Desert Mountain – Conner 21-95, Cratty 9-25, Garduno 6-7, Team 2-(minus 10). Canyon View – Vasko 2-4, Arroyo 3-(minus 3), Anderson 1-(minus 4), Scott 9-(minus 10), Jacobs 6-(minus 33).
Passing
Desert Mountain – Garduno 15-23-0, 170 yards. Canyon View – Scott 9-23-0, 78 yards, Jacobs 5-10-0, 56 yards.
Receiving
Desert Mountain – Tschen 2-54, Whitener 1-46, Justice 4-29, Conner 2-23, Lindley 2-16, Mizan 1-3, Dowd 3-(minus 1). Canyon View – Catalan 4-43, Baker 3-36, Callejas 2-27, Anderson 2-9, Arroyo 1-8, Hector 1-6, Vasko 1-5.
Sound Off
Desert Mountain CB Ryan McDonough on what it means to him to bring the school its first championship: “It means everything. This has been our No. 1 goal since February.”
Canyon View head coach Manny Alcantar on changing the culture in his first year with the Jaguars: “I’m so proud of the boys being a part of the buy-in and the family they became and the things they did. They did this. They came here and no one thought they would and they had the season nobody though they would.”
Desert Mountain’s RB Easton Conner on his mentality when he gets the ball: “The holes were there all night. My O-Line did amazing. ‘Don’t go down’ is my mentality.”
Desert Mountain head coach Conrad Hamilton: “I’m just happy. We were the underdog the last four weeks. Our kids hadn’t had a bye. I’m just a very proud head football coach for my players. They endured a lot of adversity, but we fought through it and played our best down the stretch. Our defense was amazing!”
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