Week 8 Arizona high school football roundup: Pinnacle, Cactus, Saguaro dominate in wins

A froundup of several key games in Arizona high school football Friday night. Check back for updates with additional games:

Pinnacle dominates Valley Vista

By Alex Suarez

Pinnacle’s offense and defense were clicking on both sides of the ball Friday night as the Pioneers lived up to their No. 8 rank in the latest Arizona Republic 6A rankings. 

The offense scored a touchdown on all six possessions in the first half. Pinnacle’s defense was able to make an adjustment after allowing multiple first downs on the first drive before forcing a turnover on downs. The Pioneers won the game 48-0.

Key plays

Jacobie Rucker scored on a 45-yard touchdown to open up the scoring Friday night. Duce Robinson had a punt return touchdown to end the first quarter.

Damian Zuniga caught a pass for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Pioneers defense got a sack in the endzone to force a safety. The team then drove down the field and were able to add on with a 20-yard field goal.

Standout performers

Duce Robinson had two touchdowns for Pinnacle. One coming off a punt return touchdown and the other was a 19-yard touchdown reception.

Cooper King finished the game with an interception.

Pinnacle’s defense finished the game with an interception, safety,  six sacks and no points allowed.

Key quotes

“Fall break is always tough to come out,” said Dana Zupke, head coach of Pinnacle. “I got to hand it to Valley Vista. They came out and did a few things that we hadn’t seen on film and got us off balance. I’m proud of our guys, they rode through that and really believe in each other.”

“We sorted a few things out,” added Zupke. “They had a couple of wrinkles for us that we had to adjust to and once we made those adjustments our kids played hard and started making plays.”

Up next

Pinnacle will play at Chaparral next week, while Valley Vista has a bye week.

Jiles leads Cactus over rival Peoria

By Anthony Perez

With Glendale Cactus (3-3) now in the 5A Conference, the matchup between Cactus and longtime 4A Conference rival Peoria (3-2) entered a new chapter on Friday night in Glendale.

But it was Cactus that opened this new era in a very impressive way, earning a 47-20 win thanks to senior running back Damian Jiles’ five touchdowns.

Standout performers

The Cactus victory had Jiles’ fingerprints all over it. With his team up 6-0 early, Jiles’ first touchdown came with 4:19 left in the opening quarter to extend the home team’s lead to 13. In the opening moments of the second quarter, Jiles gave his team another touchdown that extended the Cactus lead to 21-0 after a successful two point conversion.

Jiles later tacked on two insurance touchdowns in the second half. One that came with 7:58 left in the third quarter and another one that put an exclamation point on homecoming for his team with 1:31 left in the game.

The duo of freshman quarterback Dominic Kramer and senior Elijah Wood was a bright spot for Peoria late in the game. The two connected on two touchdown passes. The first one came with 10:54 left in the fourth quarter and the second one came in the closing moments of the game.

Highlight of the game

With Cactus leading early, 6-0, and 4:19 left in the opening quarter, the home team was driving and looking to really apply pressure on rival Peoria. That’s when Jiles dashed into the end zone from five yards out. His touchdown put Cactus head, 13-0, gave his team all the momentum, and was the first of five touchdowns on the night for the senior running back.

Quote of the game

“Our offensive line played really well tonight and allowed him (Jiles) to have the holes to run through, and he’s a great back. I’m really proud with the development of our offensive line tonight.” - Cactus head coach Brian Belles on what the key was to Damian Jiles’ big night

Up next

Peoria will return home to host Glendale, while Cactus will host Peoria Sunrise Mountain next Friday.

Saguaro bounces back, downs Desert Edge

By Howard Schlossberg 

The Sabercats, playing like the Open Division Champs that they are, got themselves back on the straight and narrow Friday night with a home-field 42-18 win over a very game Desert Edge team.

Most importantly, they got the leadership they needed from quarterback Devon Dampier and all-purpose Jaedon Matthews in pulling away from an athletic and very game Scorpions squad.

Key Plays

With the game tight after Desert Edge scored to open the second half, Saguaro (3-3) reeled off the next 21 points.

Dampier started it with an 11-yard scamper on an RPO to finish a 7-play, 50-yard drive after a nice Jakobi Spence kickoff return. Matthews and Zaccheus Cooper, who had two first-half touchdowns, did the dirty work, setting up Dampier's TD run.

Saguaro was right back in the end zone moments later after recovering a fumble for a short field and a 7-play drive over 49 yards, Dampier doing the honors again from 8 yards out.

Matthews iced it after another turnover, a pick in the end zone by Carlos Griffin. Matthews shortened the drive by going the last 58, off tackle right, making his night a 100-yard event on the play that was likely the backbreaker for a Desert Edge team that pretty much had its way for three quarters.

Scorpion quarterback Hezekiah Millender had a knack for big plays and Gavin Parks and Kezion Dia-Johnson made him look good with spectacular runs that turned bubble and swing passes into 47- and 59-yard TDs. Vinny Mansfield showed off his athleticism with a few spectacular receptions, but none easier than his wide-open catch that made it 21-18.

Key players

Dampier did it all, piling up 220 yards of total offense, 148 passing, 72 rushing, all of them seemingly crucial.

Matthews hit the century mark rushing, propelled by his 58-yard scoring jaunt.

Dijon Hinton had two 1-yard plunges for TDs and added a key 90-yard kickoff return for 6 after Desert Edge had scored to pull within 2 in the first half.

Desert Edge, this week ranked No. 4 in The Republic's 5A rankings,  never quit though as Millender, a sophomore, showed poise in going 18 of 26 for 370 and 3 scores. His receivers showed polish and athleticism, including Parks (6 catches for 111) and Dia-Johnson (6 for 121).

Key quotes

Saguaro coach Jason Mohns was straightforward in assessing his team's chances of making the Open Division again, acknowledging that winning out to go 7-3 will likely be necessary. The Sabercats were ranked ,  No. 4 this week in The Republic's 6A rankings, and also No. 4 in the overall Open Division rankings.

"We're working hard. But we had some opportunities we missed," he said.

Mark Carter, co-head coach of Desert Edge (4-2), felt his team is right there and showed how good they can be against a 6A squad.

"I'm definitely proud of my boys," he said. "They showed me they grew."

Up next

Desert Edge hosts Buckeye Verrado in a section game next Friday. Saguaro has bye week and needs it before going to Gilbert in two weeks.

Hamilton continues its winning streak

By Lucas Gordon

After a lightning delay set back kickoff by over two hours, Hamilton continued its winning streak with a 38-13 nearly-midnight win over Perry Friday night.

Key players

Hamilton's offense showed up without its starting quarterback Roch Cholowsky. Beckham Dellent took over the quarterback duties. While it took a half for Dellent to find his game, he finished with three passing touchdowns and 187 yards.

Dellent's favorite target was senior wide receiver Tre Spivey. Spivey hauled in four catches for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Spivey's second touchdown catch was a highlight play as he tipped the ball up to himself and caught it while falling down.

Hamilton's run game dominated while Dellent was trying to figure the passing game in the first half.

In the first half alone, the Huskies ran for 174 yards and a touchdown. The majority of the rushing yards went to Nick Switzer who was responsible for the touchdown and 51 yards. Switzer would end the game with 79 yards and two touchdowns.

Key plays

Hamilton got the scoring going early with a four-yard run from Switzer. The touchdown run was set up by an interception from Taye Brown who returned the ball down to four-yard line.

Hamilton's defense and special teams made another big play that led directly to a touchdown in the second half. Senior Alex McLaughlin blocked a punt that senior Genesis Smith would return to Perry's 25-yard line. Dellent would finish the drive with a touchdown pass to Brown to put away the game at 31-7.

Key quotes

Hamilton's win was important as the team reaches its bye week. The Huskies come back to take on Basha. Head coach Michael Zdebski wants his team to take the week to relax.

"Just rest, relax, get away from football. If you want to watch college or NFL that's great. Mentally refresh yourself and physically refresh yourself."

Up next

Both teams are on a bye next week and will not play. Perry will come back and play Casteel and Hamilton will take on Basha.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Week 8 Arizona high school football roundup: Pinnacle, Saguaro, Cactus dominate