By Don Ketchum

FLAGSTAFF – It happened once, but Show Low wasn’t about to let it happen again.

The Cougars had a 10-point lead at halftime of their Class 3A East Region game against rival Lakeside Blue Ridge on Oct. 22, but saw the Yellow Jackets outscore them 26-0 at halftime for a 36-18 victory.

Show Low and Blue Ridge were back on the field again on Saturday (Nov. 27), this time with higher stakes on the line – the 3A state title.

Show Low rolled up a 20-3 halftime lead, and Blue Ridge came back with a pair of second-half touchdowns. But Show Low’s defense came up with a big play when it counted the most and held on for a 20-17 victory at Northern Arizona University’s Walkup Skydome.

The triumph boosted Show Low’s record to 13-1 helped make up for a 41-21 loss to Blue Ridge in last year’s state-title game and snapped a 25-game winning streak by the Yellow Jackets (12-1).

Senior Joey Raymond put his body in front of Blue Ridge receiver Adam Webb and outjumped him for the ball, intercepting third-and-10 pass by Nick Johnson from the Show Low 36 in the end zone with 58.2 seconds left.

Show Low quarterback Rathen Ricedorff said that on Friday, Raymond predicted he would get an interception in the game that meant the most.

“We’re like, “Yeah, whatever, dude. You don’t even get the ball thrown at you enough to get one,’ ’’ Ricedorff said with a laugh.

Raymond said he was ready for such a play.

“Coach was telling us, they’re going to run the ball at you, but there is going to be a time when they throw the ball over the top. The ball came to my side, and I just made a play on the ball,’’ he said.

His first reaction was “to get the ball up in the air, hold it up to show them (officials) I made the catch. Then I realized, “We just won the state championship.’

“This is the best feeling in the whole world. I love my teammates. We wanted it so bad.’’

Show Low coach Randy Ricedorff, Rathen’s father, said he was proud of the effort by the defense.

“I told the defense at halftime, “If we’re going to win, you’re going to have to fight like heck for 24 minutes,’ and that’s what they did,’’ Randy Ricedorff said.

“Our offense carried us for most of the season, but our defense carried us throughout this game.’’

The offense did its share, particularly in the first half. Rathen Ricedorff threw a pair of touchdown passes. He finished with 17 completions in 29 attempts for 224 yards. He also threw two interceptions and had a pair of fumbles in the second half, losing one.

“There was no way we were going to let the game get out of their hands,’’ Rathen Ricedorff said. “It’s an unexplainable feeling to win.’’

Some might have wondered why longtime Blue Ridge coach Paul Moro didn’t try to get the ball in position for a field-goal attempt by Johnson instead of throwing deep.

“I’m not afraid to try to win the game, and we didn’t win,’’ Moro said.

He lamented penalties in the first half.

“We had to play better in the second half and we did. We almost had that (win) taken care of,’’ he said. “The difference between winning and losing a game is so small.’’