Mountain Pointe’s fans got the victory they wanted and didn’t hesitate to rush on to rival Desert Vista’s field to join their team as soon as this year’s Ahwatukee Bowl ended.

There was reason to celebrate after Mountain Pointe won 23-21, but Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista likely won’t do any cartwheels over the way they played in the second half of Friday’s game. Mountain Pointe’s fans didn’t allow the second half miscues to dampen their mood, however.

But it was a different story on Desert Vista’s side, where more than half of the 13,369 fans were sitting.   

“You can’t turn the ball over against a good team and we did,” Desert Vista coach Dan Hinds said. “We have to fix it, and when we do we’ll be fine.”

The mistakes came in bunches, beginning with a snap that went over the head of Desert Vista’s punter during Desert Vista’s first third quarter drive.

Mountain Pointe capitalized on that error to record a safety and the only points of a second half that also saw the coaches makes a couple of key defensive adjustments that kept players from breaking free like they did in the first half.

In the second half, Desert Vista also turned the ball over twice in the red zone and fumbled away its last chance to score again after a Mountain Pointe punt with less than a minute remaining in the game. But Mountain Pointe also made its share of second half mistakes.

“In the first half we were pretty incredible on offense and so were they (Desert Vista),” Mountain Pointe coach Norris Vaughn said. “In the second half I lost track of how many fumbles we had.”

Hilgers suffers multiple injuries

Desert Vista played without its top running back, Jarek Hilgers, during the second half and most of the second quarter.

The senior’s helmet came off during a second quarter run play that saw Hilgers suffer a couple of cuts on his head after he was hit. Hilgers also had a bump on the front side of his head. 

On the first play from scrimmage for Desert Vista, Hilgers ran 69 yards to give his team an early 7-0 lead. Desert Vista's Isaiah Kilby is a physical runner just as Hilgers and performed admirably in the second half, with Hilgers out.

Mountain Pointe’s offense

Mountain Pointe’s passing attack — led by quarterback Antonio Hinojosa and wide receiver Jalen Brown — helped set up a couple of long runs by its running backs in the first half.

Thomas Warren had touchdown runs of 44 and 28 yards in the first half. His 44-yard run came on a draw play.