La Cueva improbably wins double overtime thriller over Pinnacle in Flagstaff

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — La Cueva football has won hundreds of games in nearly 40 years of existence. Six state championships among them, and any number of memorable playoff and regular-season victories.

But not a single one of them resembled what happened in this northern Arizona city on Saturday night.

The defending Class 6A state champions trailed Pinnacle High from Phoenix from just about the very start of this fascinating and incredibly rare matchup of powers from neighboring states. Through a disastrous opening five minutes, then later through two weather delays and a second half in which both of the final two quarters were reduced to eight minutes each, La Cueva was playing uphill.

The Pioneers, a formidable Division 6A program in Arizona, just about had this clinched after scoring a touchdown with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter for a 15-point lead.

But not only did La Cueva shockingly score 15 points in those final 127 seconds to force overtime, the Bears also repeatedly summoned the plays when it counted after regulation was over. And La Cueva came away with a fantastically improbable, but highly captivating, 39-32 double OT victory at Coconino High.

“I think a lot of people had a bad rep on New Mexico and think we can’t play ball,” said La Cueva senior quarterback Cam Dyer, who scored the game-winning touchdown, a 4-yard keeper to begin the second overtime. “You know, tonight showed we can.”

La Cueva had long wanted to test its mettle against a reputable program from outside the state.

Pinnacle is just that; this program was in the Arizona 6A title game two years ago, and in the final eight last season.

A long touchdown run with 2:07 in the fourth quarter put Pinnacle in front 25-10, and given how little offensive success La Cueva had enjoyed to that point, it seemed highly unlikely the Bears would be bussing out of Flagstaff celebrating a win.

But they did.

Dyer ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run, the longest play from scrimmage for either team on Saturday, with 54 seconds to go. With the PAT, the Bears trailed 25-17.

La Cueva then recovered the ensuing onside kick, giving the Bears 52 yards to go, albeit with precious little time on the regulation clock.

Dyer completed a huge 29-yard pass to Jayden Parsons to the Pinnacle 10, setting up the tying points. Two plays later, from the 2, it was La Cueva’s star linebacker, Mason Posa, who took a direct snap and scored.

“We’ve been working on it a little bit,” Bears coach Brandon Back said of involving Posa, New Mexico’s best linebacker, who’ll be signing with Wisconsin in December, on offense. “He’s been dying to run the ball the last four years, and now I’m gonna have to listen to him the next 10 games telling me he can run the ball.”

Posa’s score cut the deficit to 25-23. Following a timeout, Dyer hit Tanner Montano for the 2-point conversion, and with 25 seconds to go, it was 25-25.

Pinnacle went first in the first overtime, and on a fourth down from the 17, the La Cueva defense lost Pioneers running back Alex Lugo. QB Wyatt Horton made a simple throw for a touchdown, and With the PAT, Pinnacle led 32-25.

La Cueva was next. On third down from the 7, Dyer connected with Montano for a touchdown.

The Bears lined up for the 2-point conversion and the outright victory, but a false start penalty compelled the Bears to have a change of heart. They kicked the PAT instead, and it was a 32-32 game in front of a surprisingly large (and consistently boisterous) crowd in Flagstaff.

After La Cueva went up 39-32 in the second overtime, Pinnacle’s ensuing possession was a disaster. This was in part due to Posa, who was relentless all night, especially in the overtimes. He got a 10-yard sack on first down, and Pinnacle moments later got hit with a holding penalty on a play in which the Pioneers thought they scored a touchdown.

Two passes from the 30 fell incomplete in the end zone, and La Cueva celebrated something fierce.

The Pioneers never trailed — until that Dyer TD in the second OT. They scored the game’s first 12 points in the opening five minutes, including a 23-yard pick-6 against Dyer, who threw under duress and paid a heavy price.

La Cueva kicked a short field goal late in the first quarter after a drive stalled; Dyer scored on a 9-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, and the Bears were down just two (12-10).

That was the score at halftime, and then there were a pair of 30-minute lightning delays.

The game officials, with input from the teams, decided to cut both of the final two quarters from 12 minutes to eight.

Horton scored on an 8-yard run near the end of the third quarter for an 18-10 lead — Pinnacle missed two PATs and a 2-point try on its first three TDs.

It stayed that way until a 58-yard Pinnacle TD gallop with 2:07 remaining.

And then, it was nothing but La Cueva magic.

“Cam goes down and scores (on that 76-yarder) and we get the onside, and from there, it was crazy,” Montano said. “I couldn’t tell you what happened from there.”

Posa said when La Cueva was down 25-10, “it was bad. It was dark. But you know, we got that onside kick, and we knew we had a chance. After the onside, we were ready to go win this game.”

La Cueva (2-0) is idle next week. The Bears didn’t have a complete game in Week 1, either, playing two quarters and two minutes in a 21-0 win over Volcano Vista. And Saturday’s game was only 40 minutes in length.