Scott Blanchette is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Peoria High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — With 8:00 left in Peoria’s regular season finale, Panthers coach Jason Golden had a decision to make. 

Golden’s No. 7 Panthers (7-3) were hanging onto a 25-20 lead over No. 15 Thunderbird (6-4) and were facing a fourth-and-5 from the Titans’ 14-yard line. Kicking a field goal would extend the lead but keep it a one-score game. 

Golden decided to roll the dice and send his offense back onto the field. Senior quarterback Seth Galligan took the snap, rolled out to his left and lofted a pass into the end zone that couldn’t find the outstretched arms of senior receiver Dontay Tyson. The Panthers came up empty-handed and gave the ball back to the Titans with a chance to take the lead. 

On the eve of Halloween, this decision had the potential to haunt Golden, but his frightening defense made sure that didn’t happen. It stifled the Thunderbirds’ offense on the next three plays and forced a punt. 

This proved to be a crucial moment in the Panthers’ 31-28 road victory over the Titans on Friday night. 

“I probably second-guessed myself a little bit,” Golden said. “I called a timeout and kind of wish we would have kicked that field goal. We went for it, but that's part of coaching. You make decisions and the kids had my back.”

Despite giving up some big plays to Thunderbird junior quarterback Daryl Little, Peoria’s defense stood strong when it mattered most. The Panthers stopped the Titans three times on fourth down, two of them in the second half. 

Late in the game, they also forced the Titans to punt from their own 11-yard line, allowing the Panthers to start their next drive in Thunderbird territory.

With Golden looking to maintain his team’s five-point lead and burn some time off the clock, he put the ball in the hands of junior running back Jamarion McClurge. On his third carry in a row, McClurge broke free for a 26-yard touchdown that put his team up by 11 with 2:05 left to play. 

It was McClurge’s second touchdown of the game after he ran for an 87-yard score in the second quarter. He finished with 175 yards on 13 attempts, averaging over 13 yards per carry. 

“This victory means a lot,” McClurge said. “Me and my guys got the job done. My line was blocking, and our wide receivers did too. Our defense had to do what they had to do so our offense could go down there and score.” 

Although the running game became the feature, Galligan led the offense with his steady composure, completing 14 of 20 passes for 170 yards. This included a 39-yard touchdown pass to Tyson in the opening quarter and a 15-yard score to junior tight end Emmanuel Soto in the third. 

For the Titans, it was Little who filled out the stat sheet. He compiled 184 rushing yards on 19 carries, including a 90-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He added a goal-line touchdown run in the first as well as 139 yards and another score through the air. 

“[He’s] the real deal,” Golden said of Little. “We knew that, and it doesn't matter how good your game plan is, you still have to go out there and face him. Even when we were up by 11, I knew it was going to come down to the wire.” 

It was Little’s production that helped the Titans take a 20-18 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

The Panthers, however, were unfazed. 

“Our kids were still positive,” Golden said. “They said, ‘Hey, we've got to fix this.’ I'm proud of their maturity and how they handled it. The defense really stepped up.”

That stout defense was pitching a second-half shutout until a last-minute touchdown pass to junior Everett Best and a successful two-point conversion cemented the final score at 31-28. 

Friday’s game wrapped up the regular season for both teams, and they will now look ahead to the playoffs. Thunderbird claimed the No. 15 seed and will take on No. 18 Youngker this Friday at home. 

This win helped the Panthers earn the No. 8 seed and a first-round bye. They’ll get a home game against the winner of No. 8 Arcadia and No. 24 Pueblo on Nov. 13. 

“We've got a lot of injuries, just like everybody else, bumps and bruises,” Golden said. “[We’ll] use the bye to rest up, watch film and work on fundamentals.”

Now that the bracket is set, Peoria is hoping their win over Thunderbird can act as a launching pad for a deep run this November. 

“I feel like we're the most talented team in 4A,” Galligan said. “It's a new beginning. It's a new season. We've just got to get through it, stay tight and leave our legacy.”