Amphitheater coaching legend Vern Friedli is still the man in Southern Arizona. He retired in 2011 with (what was then) a state-record 331 wins. He guided the Panthers to a state championship, he led them to their last playoff appearance in 2010 and he had the best seat in the house Friday night when he saw his former team beat Pueblo 24-17 to get back to the postseason.

It was a playoff drought that included 12 straight regular-season losses before the team beat Cholla 28-15 on opening day - way back in August. But current head coach Jorge Mendivil saw something in his team long before that win.

“We noticed they were hanging out with each other in the summer and were behaving like a unit,” Mendivil explained. “They started coming to practice more and they started to listen. I would say more commitment this year and then beating Cholla got the monkey off our back.”

Pueblo saw similar success last year when the Warriors made the state playoffs for the first time since 1990. Former University of Arizona and NFL standout Brandon Sanders took over in 2013 and he gave the program instant credibility. He also brought them lots of wins.

Sanders earned 20 wins in three years. It took four different coaches eight years combined to match that total but the Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 10-6 loss to Sunnyside on the same night the Panthers beat Cholla. It was that loss that may cost the Warriors valuable power points.

Pueblo came in ranked 21^st in the 4A Conference and Amphitheater was 18^th.  Both squads knew an at-large bid to the state playoffs was out of the question, all that remained was the automatic berth that came with a region championship.

Amphitheater was 3-0 in the Gila Region and so was Pueblo. This game was all-or-nothing. It was, in fact, a playoff game.

Amphitheater got the ball first but a fumble set up the Warriors at midfield and Ricardo Medina capped off their opening drive with a 3-yard plunge to put Pueblo up 7-0. Amphitheater was forced to punt but a fumble put the Panthers back in business.

Division I prospect David Watson recovered that fumble. The son of former Arizona lineman David Watson and Wildcat softball Hall of Famer Laure Espinoza Watson, David Watson stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 295 pounds. He was the top lineman at the University of Oregon camp in 2015 and his stock is rising. He did not play the second half due to soreness in his knee.

“We felt it was better to be safe about it,” Mendivil explained. “He obviously has a bright future.”

Mendivil let one of the best lineman in Southern Arizona rest his knee rather than force the issue to win one game, no matter how big that game was. Not sure many other coaches would have done the same. Classy move.

Amphitheater was unable to move the ball but the Warriors gave it right back on another fumble. This time, the Panthers cashed in. Emmanuel Shoemaker hit Carlos Valarezo for 35 yards to set up a short scoring run by Gerardo Esparza to tie the game up 7-7 heading into the second quarter.

Pueblo jumped back out to a 14-7 lead after Omar Ibanez broke free for a 4-yard run with 7:11 left in the half but Zulu Deah came right back with a 47-yard scamper to tie it back up 14-14.

Alex Urtuzuastegu gave Pueblo a 17-14 lead at the half with a 22-yard field goal.

The Warriors came out throwing in the second half but Aariq Quick picked off a tipped pass to put the Panthers offense back on the field where they capitalized again with a 34-yard field goal from Lu Reh.

Pueblo fumbled again and the Panthers cashed in again, this time on a 4-yard run by Valarezo to make the score 24-17. In all, the Panthers scored 17 points off of turnovers.

Still, the Warriors had a chance but their first drive of the fourth quarter stalled at the 20. Amphitheater was forced to punt and Pueblo got the ball back one last time with 6:28 left on the clock.

The Warriors ate up lots of that clock but they were moving. Dustin Archuleta set the Warriors up with a first down at the 16 with a little more than a minute left in the game but the Panthers survived three passes into the end zone to hold on for the win.

Pueblo finished 6-4 on the year and Amphitheater improved to 8-2. All playoff projections have the Panthers traveling to top-seed Scottsdale Saguaro in the first round. All teams will know for sure during the AIA bracket show at AZPreps365.com at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

Ruben Rivera led Pueblo with 108 yards rushing, Archuleta added 56 and Julio Cariño had 40. The team finished with 242 yards on the ground.

Deah led all rushers with 112 yards and Valarezo added 67 to lead Amphitheater. Shoemaker threw for 63 yards with Valarezo collecting 38 of those.