Michael Lev: For championship-bound CDO and game-changing end Evan Greer, it's go time

“Is it Monday yet?”

It was still Friday night when those words were uttered, repeatedly, in the postgame huddle. Canyon del Oro had just defeated Mica Mountain, its new crosstown rival, in the 4A state semifinals at Dorado Stadium. After a hard-fought grudge match of a game, CDO still had something to look forward to. The Dorados had one more Monday to be together, work together and win together.

Monday is the start of the workweek. Friday is the culmination. CDO has one more Friday to go, too. The No. 2 seed Dorados face No. 1 seed Yuma Catholic at 4 p.m. in Tempe, seeking Tucson’s second state championship in as many weekends.

There were no Monday blues at CDO. Just another chance to don the green and gold.

“It’s appreciation that you’re continuing your season,” Dorados coach Dustin Peace said. “Be grateful that we have an opportunity. Is it Monday yet? People think that practice is a grind sometimes. But we’re one of eight teams still playing football in all of high school (in Arizona).

“Guess what? You get to run gassers. Guess what? You get to do it again. None of that sounds fun. But we’ve still got a helmet on.”

CDO is a senior-laden team that’s been building to this moment for four years. One of those seniors, two-way standout Kayden Luke, played his usual starring role vs. Mica Mountain, rushing for 169 yards and all three Dorados touchdowns.

But CDO probably wouldn’t be playing for its first state title since 2009 if it weren’t for junior defensive end Evan Greer.

If there was a critical play to be made during the Dorados’ 23-7 victory over the Thunderbolts, Greer was likely involved in it. Time and again, CDO would pressure or sack Mica Mountain quarterback Jayden Thoreson. “Was that No. 8 again?” I’d ask my media colleagues on the sidelines.

Invariably, it was.

Officially, Greer finished with four tackles. Three of those resulted in lost yardage. Two were sacks.

That stat line doesn’t fully illustrate Greer’s impact.

Greer’s first sack came in the second quarter. He pulled off the Triple Crown for a defensive lineman — sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery. That play changed the game.

CDO was trailing 7-3 at the time. Even after senior defensive back Chase Laux intercepted a fourth-and-2 pass and returned it 58 yards to the Mica Mountain 10, the Thunderbolts held the Dorados to a field goal.

Mica Mountain took the lead on a well-executed screen pass from Thoreson to tight end Jimmy Leon, who rumbled down the left sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.

A series of defensive stops followed. Two CDO possessions in a row ended with tipped-ball interceptions.

Then, on third-and-11 from the Mica Mountain 39, Greer broke through. The sack/strip/recovery set up CDO at the 21. Four plays later, Luke plowed into the end zone to give the Dorados a 10-7 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Laux was named the 4A Kino Region Defensive Player of the Year. Peace said Greer easily could have been nominated for that honor.

“Evan’s one of those guys,” Peace said. “He’s a difference-maker.”

Greer has 30.5 tackles for loss in 13 games, including 13 sacks. Peace’s coaching points for the 6-foot, 200-pound junior can be summarized in one word: “Go.”

With “a kid like that,” Peace explained, “if you tell them, ‘Hey, you gotta do this technique, step with this foot, do this’ — like we drill — then you hinder him. So (it’s), ‘Hey, man, you go.’ And that’s the kind of results that we get.”

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CDO didn’t do anything exotic defensively; best I could tell, neither team veered from what it does best. The two sides had played to a virtual draw on Oct. 13, with the Dorados winning 17-15. That was the only loss this season for Pat Nugent’s upstart Thunderbolts, in just their third year of varsity football, before this past Friday.

“If you start changing things (and) don’t trust what got you there,” Peace said, “you’re more of a gimmick team than you are a championship team.”

So Greer typically lined up in the same spot — standup end on the left side of the defense. His role was as streamlined as Peace suggested.

“I just had to get to the quarterback,” Greer said. “They kind of let me (be) free. They let me do what I want. So I’m grateful.”

Greer wasn’t done. On the first possession of the second half, he pressured Thoreson, who threw an interception to Aaron Ramirez. Ramirez returned the ball 60 yards, deep into Mica Mountain territory. Luke did the rest, ramming the ball over the goal line to bump CDO’s lead to 17-7.

The Thunderbolts wouldn’t concede. They kept scrapping. “It’s not over yet,” a Mica Mountain player said on the sideline. “Let’s go!”

The score remained 17-7 into the fourth quarter. The Dorados faced third-and-15 from the Thunderbolts’ 38. Peace called for a screen pass ... to Greer. CDO hadn’t completed a pass all night. This time, Tristen McClelland’s toss landed in Greer’s arms. He then did his best Luke impression, fighting through tacklers for a 23-yard gain. Luke’s third TD made it 23-7 and all but put the game away.

“I got a little nervous,” Greer said, knowing full well the ball was coming his way. “Obviously, it was third down. But I just caught the ball, my blockers gave me a chance and I got the first down.”

The younger brother of senior defender Austin Greer had a few more plays to make.

Evan Greer notched his second sack on the next possession, followed by a pressure on third-and-13. Even on Mica Mountain’s final drive, Greer pressured Thoreson into an incomplete pass and leaped into the passing line to alter a ball that Laux nearly picked.

“Evan Greer — he’s a guy, for sure,” Luke said. “We get into the game, and he’s got a whole ’nother mode. He’s just got a whole ’nother gear. When it’s time to get after it, that kid gets after it.”

Greer has one more quarterback to get after. The Dorados have one more team to vanquish. No. 2 vs. No. 1.

Is it Friday yet?