Three weeks ago, Red Mountain was 4-6 and reeling from its fifth straight loss to end the regular season.

Next Saturday the Lions will travel to Arizona State and play for the 6A State Championship at Mountain America Stadium.

Friday night at Central High School, No. 12-seeded Red Mountain roared back from a 21-0 deficit before taking down top seeded Brophy in overtime, 36-35 in a semifinal game for the ages.

Running back Isaiah Savoie was the catalyst in the second half for Red Mountain, scoring four touchdowns and punishing Brophy defenders along the way to 144 total rushing yards
The most important carry of the night came in overtime, when after Savoie had scored on a short touchdown run to match Brophy’s touchdown, Red Mountain decided to go for two. The 5-11, 190 pound Savoie took the direct snap and when he met Brophy linebacker Alex Salome at the goal line, it was no contest. Savoie muscled his way into the endzone, and Red Mountain players and fans erupted in a wild celebration.  

Born Again

The Lions (7-6) unlikely postseason run will culminate next Saturday against No. 3 Saguaro (8-5), last season’s Open Division runner-up which beat Salpointe Catholic 42-24. Kickoff is at noon.
Red Mountain is making its second trip to the 6A title game in five seasons, but this team has endured a far different journey than the 2019 group.

“I believed we could be in this spot no matter what,” Savoie said after the game.

“I knew from all the great teams we played like Highland, ALA-Queen Creek, Hamilton…and the way we played played against those teams, I knew if we made the 6A playoffs that we’d have a great chance to make the state championship.”

21-0: How it Happened

Brophy’s early 21-0 lead almost came too easily. On the game’s fourth play, Brophy quarterback Chris McGinnis scored on a 52-designed run around the right side in which no Red Mountain defender even touched him. Later in the first quarter, McGinnis hit Jacob Buggie in the corner of the endzone from 17 yards for a 14-0 lead. Midway through the second quarter, running back Carlos Estrada cut his way through the Lions defense for a 32-yard scamper for the 21-0 lead. 

Meanwhile, Brophy's defense was playing fast and physical. Midway through the second quarter, Red Mountain’s offense had not made a first down and quarterback Simon Lopez had been sacked four times.

“It wasn’t looking good but we stayed upbeat and we knew we needed just one drive to turn the game around,” Savoie added.

Momentum Shift

Red Mountain finally found an offensive pulse near the end of the second quarter, driving to Brophy’s 26-yard line when Lopez hit an open Bode Wagner over the top for the Lions first score right before halftime. Down 21-7, Red Mountain coach Kyle Enders challenged his team to win the physical battle.

“We knew we were getting the ball back so we decided we needed to just line up and run right at them.”

The strategy worked. The Lions marched 12 plays and 80 yards to open the third quarter, as Savoie scored on the first of his four bruising touchdown runs. Red Mountain’s defense fed off the momentum, getting the ball back to the Lions offense. In the fourth quarter, a near sack turned into a 27-yard completion, as Lopez scrambled out of trouble and found Wagner down the sideline deep in Brophy territory. Savoie scored a few plays later to tie the game at 21 apiece midway through the fourth quarter. A three and out preceded a poor Brophy punt, giving Red Mountain the ball right back at Brophy’s 31-yard line. Savoie scored on an 11-yard run for 28 unanswered points and a 28-21 lead with 3:37 remaining. 

Brophy wasn’t done however. McGinnis calmly guided the Broncos 76 yards and capped it with a five yard scoring pass to sophomore Devin Fitzgerald, as father and former Cardinal great Larry Fitzgerald celebrated near the endzone.

“We still felt confidence going into that last drive,” Charlie McGinnis said.

The PAT made it 28-28, and meant that Red Mountain was headed to overtime for the second straight week. 

All or Nothing

Brophy had first possession, scoring in two plays with McGinnis punching it in on a keep around the right side. Down 35-28, Red Mountain knew they needed at least seven points to get to a second overtime. But after Savoie punched in another short touchdown run, Enders knew he wanted to put everything on the line and the ball in the hands of his best player for the two-point conversion and win.

As Savoie had done much of the second half, he took the direct snap and bulldozed his way through the Brophy defense.

“All I knew was that I had to get in the endzone by any means necessary,” Savoie said of his all-or-nothing two point run.

“I found a crease, there was a (Brophy defender) in there, I had to go through him to make it in the endzone.”  

Brophy finishes with a 10-3 record. It was the third straight postseason in which the Broncos fell to Red Mountain. Last year in the first round, Brophy saw a 17-0 lead dissolve into a 45-38 defeat.

“This is just hard. The emotions haven’t hit me yet,” McGinnis said afterward.

“This is the last time I’ll ever play football…I’m going to miss playing with my teammates. This is a good group of guys. Red Mountain beat us three years in a row in the playoffs…I hope they play well against Saguaro.”

 

Ben Stapley is a staff reporter for AZPreps365. Follow him on 'X' @AZPreps365Ben. For human interest story ideas, contact him at bstapley@azpreps365.com