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

It was a gritty battle, coming down to the final minute of the game, but the Cobras were able to prevail to return to yet another title game. 

“I just think they believe in themselves,” Cactus Coach Brian Belles said. “We block out all the stuff on the outside. The kids trusted in us, we trusted in them, and that’s what this program’s all about.” 

Like two years ago, the Cobras knocked off a top seed to make a surprise trip to the 5A title game. The 2022 Cobras upset #1 Notre Dame Prep 21-17 in Scottsdale.

“Nobody thought we were gonna win,” senior receiver Julian Stubblefield said. “Especially them being a one-seed, it’s an hour drive for us, no one thought we were gonna win. It’s just a blessing, truly.”  

Cactus (10-3) will face its most bitter rival for the 5A title, looking to avenge a regular season loss.

The #4 seed plays #7 seed Desert Edge at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 in ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. 

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

The Cobras knew they were going to have their work cut out for them, going up against such a solid team. Belles said the Eagles wre exactly who they thought they’d be. 

“They’re a tough, disciplined football team,” Belles said. “They battled throughout a tough region, they beat two open teams this season… A ton of credit to those guys for battling the whole game, but my hats off to my kids, as well.” 

Cactus got the ball first to start the game 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, making it 7-0 Cactus with 10:07 left in the first quarter.

ALA-Gilbert North had an answer, though, with Kody Thorley punching it in from the one-yard-line to cut the lead. The extra point attempt was good, tying it at 7 with 7:21 left in the first quarter. 

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

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

The teams traded punts. However, on the Eagle’s following possession, they were able to tie it up with a 22-yard-touchdown run by quarterback Conner White and a successful extra point attempt. With 8:54 to go before the half, it was 14 all. 

Cactus was moving the ball and had reached the red zone when quarterback pressure caused a fumble. It was recovered by Colton Beardall of ALA-GN at the 27. 

While eating away as much time off the clock as they could, the Eagles 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 remaining to make it 17-14 going into the half. 

ALA-GN got the ball coming out of the half and was quick to score. After an explosive 28-yard pass from White to Adriyen Joe, the Eagles ran a trick play good for a 49-yard touchdown, caught by Isaac Massey. The kick was good, extending the lead to 24-14 with 10:42 remaining in the third. 

Just 40 seconds later, though, Cactus would answer with another touchdown run from Varga, cutting the lead as the to 24-21 ALA-GN. 

After forcing the Eagles to punt, there was a noticeable momentum shift for the Cobras. In just three snaps Cactus was in the end zone once again for Varga’s third touchdown of the night, as the Cobras reclaimed the lead 28-24 Cactus.

“We have a lot to be thankful for,” Belles said. “A lot of these kids weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths. They’ve had to deal with a ton of adversity. I think we still have a lot to be thankful about. We’re still playing, we’ve still got each other, and we get to do this for one more week.” 

Cactus' defense was fired up on the next outing, forcing ALA-GN to settle for a field goal. WIth 4:18 remaining in the 3rd, the Eagles had cut the lead to 28-27. 

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

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

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

Cactus was once again driving down the field when the Cobras were picked off at the 3-yard-line by Stockton Dye. ALA-GN decided to go for it on a fourth down deep in Cobra territory on the following drive but failed to convert, turning the ball over at the Cactus 15-yard-line with around 7 minutes remaining. 

Cactus was able to progress to the 6 before stalling out, ultimately going for it on fourth down and also failing to convert. The Cobras turned the ball back over to the Eagles with 4:20 remaining. 

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

ALA-Gilbert North was not done yet, though, and answered with yet another touchdown pass from White to Massey. Looking to cut the lead, the Eagles elected to go for two and converted on a pass from White to Joe, making it 38-35. 

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

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

“Our defense really stepped up to the challenge,” Belles said. “We didn’t do everything right, but you’ve gotta give credit to the other team too, they’re a good football team. We bent, but we didn’t break. Our kids played their tails off and I couldn’t be more proud.”