#2 Desert Mtn. surges past #10 Gilbert
October 29, 2022 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
#10 Gilbert High seemingly had the momentum late in the third period ion Friday night in its bid to upend #2 ranked Desert Mountain as the 5A Northeast Valley foes locked up.
A 72-yard Gilbert scoring drive that took less than two minutes to tie Desert Mountain at 21 had host Tiger fans primed for a potential upset. Unfortunately for Gilbert, the tide turned swiftly.
Desert Mountain quarterback Brady McDonough teamed up with receiver Dylan Tapley for a 79-yard TD -- 21 seconds after Gilbert's tying score. The TD came with with 54 seconds left in the third period. The Wolves went on to dominate the final quarter and prevail going away, 40-21.
Desert Mountain improved to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in region. Gilbert dropped to 5-3, 2-1 in region. Notre Dame Prep (7-1, 3-0) is atop the region after its latest win Friday, 53-0 over Skyline. Desert Mountain's lone loss was a three-overtime defeat at the hands of NDP.
McDonough turned in a noteworthy performance. The junior, who shared time behind center with senior Drew Tapley in the first half, passed for two TDs (both to Dylan Tapley) and ran for another. McDonough completed 15 of 20 passes for 276 yards. He added 12 rushes for 102 yards. Drew Tapley also tossed a TD pass to Jake Freeburg to begin the scoring in the second quarter.
Gilbert, which never led, rallied to tie after each of Desert Mountain's first three TDs. Quarterback Danny Hesse connected with Ethan Greenberg for a 7-7 tie with 3:12 before halftime. Running back Cooper Zellner knotted the game at 14 on a 1-yard run with 5:19 left in the third period. Noah Narain gave Gilbert its final tie at 21 with 1:15 to go in the third.
Desert Mountain's last two touchdowns were McDonough's 12-yard scramble making its 34-21 with 10:11 to play and a defensive TD by Cassius Atherton - a fumble recovery and shared sack in the end zone with less than four minutes to play.
Desert Mountain and Gilbert continue region play next week (Nov. 4) - Desert Mountain visits Sunnyslope and Gilbert concludes its home schedule taking on Skyline.
