Salpointe Catholic's Mason Sanchez lays his head on the field following Friday night's loss to Scottsdale Horizon in the Class 5A state title game in Tempe.

 Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

TEMPE β€” Salpointe Catholic defensive end Damian Coley pounced on a block punt as it rolled across the south end zone of Sun Devil Stadium.

For a moment, it seemed possible.

What an incredible comeback it would have been, for the second-seeded Lancers (12-2) to rally from a three-touchdown deficit to steal a Class 5A state championship from a shocked top-seeded Scottsdale Horizon team.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

β€œWe came out of the locker room pumped up, because we knew the game wasn’t over,” defensive back Antonio Martinez said. β€œAt the end of the day, it’s a team game, and we just couldn’t come up with it.”

The Huskies (12-2) got the game back under control with a 13-play touchdown drive on the ensuing possession, converting on three third downs, to pull away in the 38-28 victory late Friday in the 5A state championship game.

The first half really couldn’t have gone worse for Salpointe.

Despite holding the Horizon to just two first downs on its first two drives, the Lancers couldn’t take advantage. The offense struggled to create room for running back Anthony Wilhite, who had a potential 78-yard touchdown run wiped out by a penalty. Quarterback Treyson Bourguet was out of sync with wide receivers, missing on eight of his 12 pass attempts, and the Lancers even missed a 40-yard field goal right before half.

Once Horizon quarterback Skyler Partridge caught fire, there was little the Lancers’ defense could do.

Patridge completed nine-straight passes including touchdowns to Cole Linyard and Ethan Tinsey. Linyard was a menace, tallying 13 catches for 177 yards and one touchdown in just the first quarters.

But the most heartbreaking moment of the first half came at the Salpointe 2-yard line, when Horizon running back Wesley Lambert collided with Salpointe linebacker Joey Sumlin.

Sumlin couldn’t let him gain another inch if he wanted to prevent the Lancers from falling behind 21-0. But the quick Lambert twisted and turned, forcing his way forward to pick up the crucial fourth down. Two plays later, Lambert was in the end zone, capping a 19-play, 85-yard drive that ran 7:28 off the clock and seemed to suck the life out of the Lancers.

Salpointe Catholic’s Mason Sanchez can’t quite bring down Scottsdale Horizon’s Cole Linyard during the first half.

Salpointe would rebound.

Coming out of halftime, the Lancers made a defensive stop and mounted a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive, topped off by a 17-yard touchdown run by Wilhite. That’s when, after a three-and-out, Salpointe bull rushed Horizon punter Grady Gross. The ball ricocheted more than 20 yards back to the end zone, where it rested for Coley to find it and give his Lancers some life.

But Salpointe had dug itself too deep of a hole. Even after Bourguet found receiver Gage Felix for a touchdown, Horizon answered right back with a long touchdown run from Partridge with 4:20 left. Then, with less than three minutes remaining, Bourguet burst into the end zone himself.

It was a shootout everyone thought was possible. Just a little too late.

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