No. 8 Salpointe celebrating the upset win over no. 1 Pinnacle pic.twitter.com/tYt56i7IeW
— Brittany Bowyer (@RealLittwBritt) November 22, 2025
PHOENIX — No. 8 Salpointe got to enjoy another fun ride back to Tucson on Friday night after shocking the entire state with a 10-7 upset of top-ranked Pinnacle in the 6A Quarterfinals. The game was a gritty, defensive battle and the Lancers fought hard until the very end.
“Defensively, they played a heck of a game,” Salpointe coach Pat Ryden said. “I can’t say enough tonight about our defense other than one play, right? We gave up one play tonight for a touchdown, their first play.”
It was a rematch for the two teams who met in the final week of the regular season, with Pinnacle picking up a 28-21 win. The Lancers said the prior experience playing against the Pioneers helped them in numerous ways heading into the game.
“Our guys knew they could play with them,” Ryden said. “I think that first game gave them a lot of confidence.”
Junior Chris Chaney echoed Coach Ryden, stating, “It gave us our confidence to know we could win it, because we only lost by a little bit, and it’s hard to beat a team twice.”
“Just the mistakes that we made the first game… We had a lot of mistakes on defense and a lot of mistakes on offense so looking back at that and then just having that mentality that we need to beat them, because it’s do or die,” senior Bryan Melton said.
Breaking down the game
Pinnacle won the toss and elected to defer.
Salpointe’s opening drive started off with a strong push down the field before the Lancers stalled at the 25. With Salpointe electing to kick a field goal, Troy Kuhlman‘s successful attempt gave the Lancers a 3-0 lead with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter.
The Pioneers had a big return to the 50-yard-line. From there, they would counter with their only touchdown of the night on the opening snap of the drive, with Antonio Casias finding an open receiver for a 50-yard touchdown. The kick was good, making it 7-3 Pinnacle with 6:19 left in the first.
From there, both defensive units went to battle, making plays and forcing punts.
It wouldn’t be until Salpointe’s final possession before the half that the Lancers finally reached the end zone. Pinnacle fumbled the ball with 49.3 seconds left at their own 27-yard-line and it was recovered by Salpointe’s Nas Pedrego.
The Lancers took over and worked quickly to move the ball into the end zone. They finished the drive with a pass from Rayce Alvarez to RJ Gory for a nine-yard touchdown. The kick was good, making it 10-7 Salpointe with just 17 seconds left in the half.
Pinnacle got the ball back and took a knee to lead into the half.
After electing to defer, the Pioneers got the ball back to start the second half, but their possession would be short-lived as a fumble by Pinnacle was recovered by Salpointe. The Lancers took over at their 34, but they wouldn’t maintain possession for long, as they were picked off yet again by the Pioneers.
With 8:52 remaining in the third quarter, Pinnacle began to push down the field, but were brought to a stop at the Salpointe 42 after going for it on fourth down and failing to convert.
Salpointe regained possession with 4:44 left in the third quarter but struggled to do anything, punting the ball back after a quick three-and-out.
Both teams would continue to exchange punts until Pinnacle’s final drive of the game. The Pioneers went for it on fourth down, but Salpointe defense came up big, forcing an incomplete pass and a turnover on downs with 1:39 remaining in the game.
Salpointe took over possession and was able to pick up the first down before running out the remainder of the clock to pick up the hard-fought, 10-7 win.
“We had a great week of practice on both sides of the ball and I think our kids have a different focus right now,” Coach Ryden said.
He continued, “I told them the other day at practice this is the type of focus they needed to have early in the season, but you know, we’ve got it right now and we’re clicking at the right time. We’ve still got to find some offense, that’s frustrating, but our guys are getting the job done so we’re moving on.”
What’s next
The Lancers will now prep for No. 4 Queen Creek Casteel on the road next Friday night in the 6A Semifinals. After finishing the regular season 5-5, the Lancers are now one game away from playing in the state championship.
“Our guys believe right now that they can go and play for a state championship, and that’s half the battle right there is just getting guys who have confidence and believe they can do it and then wanting to come out and put the work and the effort that it takes to get it done.”
“This year we can do something big; we can get a ring,” Chaney said.
Work begins Saturday morning at 7:30 after the Lancers return to Tucson. Ryden is looking forward to the team putting in another great week of work and knows that their confidence will continue to help them at this point in the season.
“They bought themselves another week and they have the opportunity to be a special team, and so we’re right back to work tomorrow,” Ryden said.
“I’m so proud of this team, I just love every single one of them,” Melton said.
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