CHINO VALLEY — Despite windy conditions and the game on the line, kicker Clayton Porter had ice running through his veins in the final 8 seconds, drilling a 28-yard field goal to give Chino Valley a thrilling 36-34 victory over Cortez on Friday night.

The senior said nobody would have seen how “stressed” he was before the ball was snapped, however.

“That’s the side [of field] that I suck kicking off of, and I was worried because of the wind going on. There was a lot of stress going on,” Clayton said, adding that after he booted the ball, that all went away, and he was feeling higher than the distant clouds filled with lightning.

“I was over the moon. I couldn’t contain my excitement, none of the team could,” Porter said.

Tied 27-27 entering the fourth quarter, Cortez playmaker Tarley Jellow caught a 37-yard strike, his fourth of the night, from quarterback Anthony Jamerrius to give the Colts (2-2, 0-1 2A Metro 3) a 34-27 lead.

But the Cougars would fight back, watching playmaker Destry Owings make a few sweet moves to score a touchdown with 5:04 to play, cutting the Colts’ lead to one, 34-33.

Chino Valley decided to go for two, but missed their opportunity.

“My main playmaker said he can get it, so we trusted him, we put the ball in his hands,” Chino Valley coach Brandon Gschweng said about his decision. “We knew we still had time to battle.”

And that they did.

With 1:51 left in the game, David Ushindi fumbled the football for Cortez and the Cougars recovered, giving them one last shot at a victory, putting their trust in Porter to come through in the clutch to win it.

“For us to be able to beat Cortez, they have proven that you must be able to last the whole game. It’s a crap shoot when you play them on which one is going to get the win. Our win against them last year was by one point, so we know that they are willing to go the distance,” Gschweng said.

For Cortez, Jamerrius was outstanding, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another while Kolden Files caught two scores in the loss.

First-year coach Brian Cole said Jamerrius was someone he sought after first when getting the job in March.

“He’s the guy, when I got there on campus who we focused on. There were rumors that he may leave and transfer, which I understood. But we talked, and I said, ‘Here’s my plan with you,’ and I think he’s happy right now. We’re letting him throw more than he ever has. He ran a Veer [type offense] and he didn’t get an opportunity to throw that much,” Cole said.

UP NEXT

Chino Valley (2-2, 1-0 2A Metro 3) hosts Red Mesa for their homecoming game Sept. 18, then travel to defending state champ Scottsdale Christian.

“It’s going to get tough for us. Scottsdale Christian, I’d like to be competitive against them. They are who they are. We’ll prepare the best we can. Camp Verde is a force to be reckoned with,” Gschweng said.

At 2-2, the Cougars could go 4-1 the rest of the way (assuming they lose to Scottsdale Christian) with wins against Red Mesa, Bourgade Catholic (Oct. 2), Camp Verde (Oct. 9) and Fountain Hills (Oct. 16) to end the season, meaning they’d by 6-3 and potentially challenging for a 2A playoff spot.

As for Cortez, they’ll be looking to rebound from the tough loss in Chino Valley and will face Antelope Union on Sept. 18. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.