Cactus’ season came to a close after a round-two loss to #9 Desert Mountain (9-3) 24-14 on Friday night in Glendale.

The Wolves dominated the second half 17-0 to win the 5A second round playoff showdown.

“In the second half, we didn’t take advantage of a couple of opportunities we had offensively,” coach Brian Belles said. “It’s just a couple plays here and there that if we make a play and they don’t, the game is different, but credit to them for making the plays.”

The Cobras came out with a completely different offensive look, running the Wildcat for the majority of the night. Quarterback Luke Berlin did not take his first snap under center until 6:45 left in the second quarter and played just two snaps in the first half.

“We had to cook up something to put ourselves in the best position to be successful and we thought that’s what it was tonight,” Belles said.

That offensive game plan worked smoothly on the #8 Cactus’ first drive after sophomore running back Nathaniel Linares, who took the majority of the Wildcat snaps, scampered in for a 2-yard touchdown, capping a six-play drive of all runs four minutes into the game.

Linares finished with 20 carries for 116 yards and the score.

The Wolves evened the score with 2:38 left in the second quarter on a 1-yard wildcat run of their own for a touchdown by sophomore running back Easton Conner.

The Cobras started the following possession on their own 20-yard line and continued to run with Linares, despite the clock working against them.

With all three timeouts, the Cobras let the clock roll down to under 20 seconds before senior Robert Bell Jr. threw a wide receiver pass to Jeremiah Angulo for a 43-yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead with just four seconds in the half.

The trick-play magic at the end of the half was the final spark from the Cobras’ offense for the night, as they were silenced by a fiery second-half Wolves defense.

Cactus converted just two first downs the entire second half.

“We made some adjustments and we were a little bit more aggressive with it,” coach Conrad Hamilton said. “I think the guys stepped up to the challenge, so we are pleased with that.”

After stopping the Cobras’ first drive out of halftime, quarterback junior Grant Garduno tossed a 54-yard strike to wide receiver Kai Tschen to tie it 14-14 with 5:55 left in the third quarter.

Garduno finished 11-of-14 for 127 yards passing and 37 rushing, with two total touchdowns and an interception.

“I am just really proud of our team,” Garduno said. “We had some adversity and I think we responded really well. Hopefully we keep that energy.”

The Wolves grabbed the lead on their next drive on a 41-yard field goal off the leg of Koen Broadley. The offense sustained its momentum the following drive while draining nearly seven minutes off the fourth quarter clock with a 13-play drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from Garduno.

In desperation mode, Berlin launched a deep ball that cornerback Hassan Smith was able to pull down, icing the game with a minute to go and ending the Cobras’ championship hopes.

“He was singled up out there and he made the play, so happy for Hassan,” Hamilton said. “He has been in the right position all year and just hasn’t been coming down with the picks. Tonight he came down with the biggest play of the game.”

For the Cobras, not only does this season end, but the seniors’ journey in the black and blue does too.

“You just thank them for everything they’ve given to the program,” Belles said. “It’s one of those deals where you hate to see them teary-eyed when they leave, but doing this for 25 years I’ve learned every group is special. You hate for it to end this way, but you tell them you love them and that we are going to be here for a while and they’ll always have a home here.”

Desert Mountain will move on to the quarterfinals and face the No. 1-seeded Desert Edge (11-0) next Friday in Goodyear. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Riley Kelton is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cactus High School for AZpreps365.com