2008. That was the last time St. Johns played in a state championship game. The Redskins came close with four straight semifinal finishes after that, and the program came close again 2019, but a 29-16 win over a surging Tanque Verde squad in the driving rain Saturday night has the team playing on the final day once again where the team will take on Scottsdale Christian.

The semifinal game against No. 9 Tanque Verde, played at McClintock High School in a rain storm, wasn’t decided until the final moments which only added to the thrill of No. 4 St. John’s moving on to play another day.

The Hawks came in as one of the hottest teams in the state, ripping off nine straight victories, including taking out No. 8 Camp Verde 39-15 on the road and No. 1 Veritas Prep 28-23 on the road to set up the game with the Redskins. The son of one of the most respected football officials in the state, head coach Jeffrey Bollnow has taken the Hawks to places and heights the program has never been to before.

“This was fun, exploring new things together,” Bollnow said. “So much growth together. I always believed in our guys and then we really started getting it rolling and I thought we had something going here. We were getting better every week and a few different things here and we could have kept it going but I’m very proud of my guys and I’m going to miss my seniors like crazy.”

On the other side of the field, St. Johns head coach Lon Dimbatt, who played at Eastern and then Charleston, was part of the St. Johns dynasty in the 90s and he told me there are generations just like him on this current team and that’s how “small schools” develop legendary followings and programs. He cautioned his team that there were still mistakes made in the victory over Tanque Verde that they will need to work on those before the championship game.

St. Johns has eight state championships and one more would put the program in a field that includes Thatcher and Snowflake. Scottsdale Christian has four state championships including 2023 and 2024. The Redskins will have to follow Dimball’s lead and practice and practice some more.

For Tanque Verde, there are now great expectations and one has a feeling they program will respond.

Tanque Verde head coach Jeffrey Bollnow. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)