PHOENIX — The No. 17 Cienega Bobcats left the Valley with a hard-fought, emotional win Friday night over No. 16 Sunnyslope in the first round of the 5A playoffs, defeating the Vikings 49-35 on the road. For the Bobcats, it was an emotional moment as the team had secured its first playoff victory since 2021.
“It just feels great because we haven’t won a playoff game in so long, so this is really an emotional moment for us,” senior wide receiver/defensive back Dylan Robinson said.
In a win-or-go-home situation, the Bobcats came up big to keep their season alive and advance to Round 2 of the 5A playoffs.
“To be able to have another week with them, I’m stoked,” Cienega coach Justin Argraves said.
Game recap
Sunnyslope won the toss and elected to receive, putting the ball in the Vikings’ hands first.
Despite a strong and fast push down the field to start, Sunnyslope stalled out at the Cienega 25, turning the ball over on downs with 11:20 still remaining in the first quarter.
Cienega was able to advance to midfield, but also struggled to convert on a fourth down, giving the ball back to Sunnyslope at the Bobcats’ 49-yard-line.
It only took three snaps for the Vikings to reach the end zone and get on the board first, with junior Royce Vanacore finding senior Patrick Ross for a 43-yard touchdown pass. The kick by senior Lucas Goldstein was good, giving Sunnyslope the 7-0 lead with 8:11 left in the first quarter.
Cienega wouldn’t take long to counter, as senior quarterback Julian Hainley connected with senior Logan Welsh for a 33-yard touchdown. The kick by Alex Moya was good, tying things up at seven with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Sunnyslope’s following possession resulted in a punt, but the Bobcats were able to block it and return the ball to the 7 with 3:53 remaining in the first quarter.
Thanks to special teams gifting the offense great field position, it only took two snaps for the Bobcats to reach the end zone, with Hainley punching it in from one yard out to extend the lead. The kick by Moya was good, making it 14-7 with 3:12 still left to play in the first quarter.
Cienega nearly had Sunnyslope stopped on the next drive just outside of the red zone, forcing a fourth-and-2, but an encroachment call against the Bobcats handed the Vikings a fresh set of downs while advancing them to the 17. After that, a face mask call helped advance them to the 11 before the Vikings eventually finished off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by junior Kelton Rogers. The extra-point was good, making it 14-14 with 8:21 remaining in the half.
The Bobcats quickly countered with a 64-yard bomb from Hainley to senior Jaden Rodgers for six. The kick from Moya was good, putting Cienega back on top 21-14 with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter.
Sunnyslope was standing toe-to-toe exchanging blows with Cienega, as the Vikings answered with another 4-yard touchdown from Rogers. The kick was good, knotting the score at 21 with 4:35 remaining.
Cienega wanted to have the upper hand going into halftime and were able to do so, marching down the field and finishing the drive with another 1-yard run from Hainley. The extra-point attempt was blocked by senior Joseph Lee, making it 27-21 with 57.2 seconds remaining in the half.
“The first half just seemed like the longest first half,” Argraves said. “I mean, it was just bang, bang, bang. They score, we score, they score, we score.”
“You know, we went in and regrouped at halftime. My defensive coordinator, Coach (Bryan) Lopez, did a tremendous job putting a game plan together tonight.”
Coming back out of the half, Cienega got the ball to get things rolling again. The Bobcats were able to tack on six more with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hainley to Rodgers. Electing to go for two, the Bobcats were able to convert on a quarterback keeper by Hainley, making the score 35-21 with 9:49 remaining in the third quarter.
On Sunnyslope’s following possession, the Vikings were able to reach the end zone on an 18-yard pass from Vanacore to Rogers. The kick was good, making it 35-28 with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Cienega only needed five snaps to move the ball 80 yards into the end zone for another touchdown scoring on a pass from Hainley to senior Ayden Billings for 25 yards. The extra-point was good, pushing Cienega’s lead back to 14.
The Vikings were able to reach the red zone on their following drive, but a fumble at the 3 was recovered by senior Micah Ford to give the Bobcats possession with 3:18 remaining.
The Bobcats ended up punting the ball away with 1:55 remaining in the third.
It was a quick three and out for Sunnyslope as Cienega regained possession of the ball at its own 19-yard-line. Cienega was able to deliver what would be the knock-out punch on another quarterback keeper by Hainley. The kick was good, making it 49-28 with 10:43 remaining in the game.
“Obviously, Julian Hainley stepped up and did a tremendous job tonight,” Argraves said. “It was an overall great effort.”
“It’s huge being able to score not only with my arm but with my legs, because it opens up the offense even more,” Hainley said.
Sunnyslope’s following drive didn’t go as planned, Robinson came up with an interception with 10:08 remaining.
“At first, that wasn’t even my man, so I had to pick him up,” Robinson said about the interception play. “The ball just came straight to me so I jumped and I caught it.”
The Bobcats took over at the 16 and put in backup quarterback sophomore Clay Brock. They ran they ball in an attempt to run down the clock, but ultimately ended up punting with 6:36 remaining in the game.
The following drive ended in another turnover for the Vikings, as a pass was tipped into the hands of senior Riley Lohmueller. Cienega took over at its 39 with 5:49 remaining.
After running about two and a half minutes off the clock, the Bobcats punted the ball back to Sunnyslope, who took over at its 42.
Advancing down the field, the Vikings were able to score on a pass from senior Ryan Choukalas to senior Tommy Reeve with just 30 seconds left in the game. The extra-point attempt was good, making the score 49-35.
From there, the Bobcats were able to kneel the ball down to run out the remainder of the clock and secure the victory.
After picking up the win and going through the handshake line, the Bobcats raced over to the stands to sing the fight song with the cheerleaders and celebrate.
Argraves gave his kudos to Sunnyslope coach Sam Jacobs and his entire staff and team for their successful season and their grit on the gridiron Friday night.
“They’re an extremely well-coached team,” Argraves said. “We knew coming into the game that their offense was super dynamic, and that was the key. Can we contain the quarterback? Can we hopefully stop the run game with that running back (Rogers) who’s pretty darn good athlete, as well.”
He also gave kudos to the quarterback, Vanacore.
“(Vanacore) is a tremendous athlete. So, for us to kind of hold them to what we held him to tonight is a testament to the kids, all these coaches and the work they put in.”
What’s next
The Bobcats will now prepare to return to the Valley on Friday as they take on No. 1 Desert Edge (10-0) in Goodyear. It will be a rematch of when the teams met in Vail on Sept. 5, when the Bobcats lost 25-0 after trailing 7-0 at halftime.
Argraves said the team is coming off of what was probably their best week of practice all year, and they’re prepared to dial it in again this week.
“I’ve never been so excited to get back to work tomorrow after a long, three-hour bus ride home,” Argraves said.
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