Jackson Adlhoch is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Perry High School for AZPreps365.com.

After losing its regular season's final two games to Open Division contenders Basha and Chandler, Perry got back on track at home beating No. 11 Mountain Pointe 30-27 in the 6A conference playoffs' first round on Thursday. 

That's Perry's first playoff victory in five seasons. 

The No. 6 Pumas advances to the quarterfinals and will play at third seed Saguaro next Friday. 

Perry was down 21-14 going into halftime, but did not stop fighting. 

“Just our mindset, we came into this game thinking we were gonna blow them out,” said junior middle linebacker Nate Lauritzen. “We came out flat, we just brought it back in the second half.” 

Perry held Mountain Pointe to six second-half points and forced multiple turnovers, including the game-winning interception made by Lauritzen with less than two minutes to play as the Pumas were up by three.  

“We were in straight man coverage and no one was on my side," said Lauritzen. "Had to make a play.” 

Junior quarterback Diesel Taylor then trotted on the field to kneel the rest of the game away. 

Its been a long road for Perry head coach Ortiz and his team, but he is beyond proud of his group, which has the program's first winning season since 2019. 

“First winning season in a very long time, these kids are fighting, we’ve changed the culture here, we are super excited for the challenge moving forward as a program, but this team changed Perry,” Ortiz said. 

A playoff week usually has a different feel than a normal regular season game week for any team, and it was not different for Perry. 

“Definitely more intensity, more focus on the small things and the kids are ready to go,” said Ortiz pregame. 

While the win was awesome for the Pumas it was more than just a game for Ortiz. In only his second year as Perry’s head coach, he and his staff have completely turned this program around. 

“I feel excited, happy we are here, happy we are hosting a playoff game for the first time in five years, it feels really good,” Ortiz said. 

Thursday's win was a huge step in the right direction for the Pumas, but to get to their goal of a state championship they have a long road ahead. 

“As we move into the postseason it’s kind of like we have to ramp it up even more. And so even though maybe bodies are tired and sore at the end of the year you have to lock-in mentally,” said Perry’s defensive coordinator Justin Clare.