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

PEORIA — Sometimes life throws you a curveball. Even in football.

What makes teams and players great, however, isn't how they avoid adversity. It's how they respond to it.

When the Peoria Panthers entered the 2026 season, they expected their offense to be explosive. Junior quarterback Jazz Zuhri was poised for a big year under center, while junior running back Christian Zarate gave the Panthers another weapon in the backfield. Senior wide receiver Dontay Tyson, a four-star recruit committed to Washington, was returning as a deep threat in the passing game.

In their season opener against Deer Valley, the offense lived up to the hype. Zarate rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries.

But in Peoria's second game against Kellis, the Panthers suffered their first major setback.

“We were going on our second drive,” Zarate said. “I took an inside zone run, cut it back and broke it for about 25 yards. I got caught from behind, overstepped and hyperextended my knee.”

What initially appeared to be a less serious injury turned out to be a torn ACL, sidelining Zarate for the rest of the season.

Peoria still managed to beat Kellis 42-7, with Zuhri accounting for 197 total yards and three touchdowns. He followed that performance with two touchdowns in a 41-13 win over Sahuaro.

Then, in the Panthers' fourth game against 5A Cactus on Sept. 18, they suffered another devastating loss.

“I made the first linebacker miss,” Zuhri said. “And right when I planted my right foot, the linebacker hit me from the left. I just felt it cave in. I knew I'd torn my ACL because I had [the same injury on] my left knee before.”

“When it first happened, I was in disbelief,” he said. “I went through probably every emotion. I was mad. I was frustrated. It felt like a dream, honestly. It didn't feel real.”

With two of their most important offensive players sidelined for the season, the Panthers suddenly faced a very different challenge.

“When [Jazz] went down in the first quarter against Cactus, I think it really let the air out of our sails,” Peoria coach Jason Golden said. “Everybody felt deflated during the game.”

Already facing a team from a higher conference, Peoria struggled to move the ball without Zuhri and Zarate. The Panthers finished with just 151 yards of total offense and suffered a 56-0 loss.

It was the first time Peoria had been shut out in five seasons, and it marked the program's largest margin of defeat in the past 20 years.

The Panthers had every reason to be discouraged. But rather than lose faith or make excuses, they began looking for a way forward.

“We had our heads down after that,” said junior running back Jamarion McClurge, who took over the starting duties for Zarate after the injury. “It did mess us up a little bit because we lost our quarterback. But the losses don’t define us. Ever since then we've been trying to get back to our better selves.”

Golden said he brought the seniors together immediately after the loss to discuss how the team could turn its season around.

One of the seniors who would help lead that turnaround was quarterback Seth Galligan. With Zuhri sidelined, Galligan was handed the keys to the offense. More of a pocket passer than Zuhri, Galligan had seen some action in the first few games but now faced the challenge of taking over in the middle of the season.

Although Peoria struggled against Cactus, Galligan impressed his coach with his resilience.

“We put in a backup quarterback in that situation, and he was getting tattooed,” Golden said. “He was getting laid out, and he kept getting up. He's not a big kid, but he's tough, really tough. I was very proud of him.”

In their next game against Poston Butte on Sept. 24, the Panthers had an opportunity to right the ship. After a hard-fought game, Peoria pulled out a 19-12 victory, closing out the win with a drive that lasted nearly eight minutes before taking a knee inside the 5-yard line.

“It was an old-school, smashmouth football game,” Golden said. “We didn't rely on all our stars. It was the core of our team. I think that was our turning point, and it gave us confidence going into region play.”

Starting with the Poston Butte game, the Panthers won five of their next six games, with their only loss coming in overtime against Northwest Christian on Oct. 28.

The offense found its groove during that stretch, averaging 39 points per game over its final five games.

Galligan and McClurge, who were suddenly thrust into featured roles, answered the call and helped bring the explosiveness Peoria had expected from its offense.

McClurge rushed for 12 touchdowns, surpassed the 100-yard mark in six games and finished the regular season with 1,038 yards.

“When [Zarate] got hurt, it hurt me,” he said. “But it made me step up and become who I am now and do what I'm doing. [The coaches] set us up in the right places and at the right moments.”

Leading the passing attack, Galligan threw for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

The Panthers' receiving corps also benefited from Galligan's ability to spread the ball around. Tyson and junior receiver Ryan Henderson each finished with more than 30 receptions and 600+ yards.

“I just get the ball to our guys,” Galligan said. “When the ball is in our guys' hands stuff is going to happen. We can bust off a 60-yard run, or we can get four yards, but we're going to keep the chains moving. That's just how we go.”

After overcoming so much adversity, Peoria has put itself in position to compete for a conference championship. The Panthers earned the No. 8 seed in the 4A Division playoffs, securing a first-round bye and an opportunity to continue a season that once appeared to be slipping away.

They will host No. 9 Arcadia on Friday night, looking for their first playoff win since 2019. 

“A lot of people believe in us, and a lot of people don't,” Galligan said. “It doesn't matter to us. [A win] would mean a lot because we put in the work that nobody saw…We’re here to play and we can compete with anybody.”