Eight-man football can play out like a video game at times and, at other times, like a romantic or dramatic thriller that can give you hope at one turn, only to pull that rope away at the last moment, and that’s what happened Friday night in the small town of St. David with a population approaching 1,500.

Down 42-30 to Mogollon with a few minutes left in the third quarter, the Tigers were on the verge of cutting into the Mustang lead but an interception in the end zone resulted in a 55-yard touchdown pass going the other way and a possible 42-38 scenario, with a whole fourth quarter to play, turned into a 50-30 plot twist that proved too difficult to overcome and Mogollon went on to win 66-36.

Mogollon, located in Heber, is a power-program with 15 state championship appearances since 1994 and seven state titles, including three straight from 2020, 2021 and 2022. It was a streak that included 23 straight victories until Hayden beat them in the third week of the 2022 season. The Tigers also beat Mogollon that year in the regular season but the Mustangs returned the favor with a victory over St. David in the semifinals.

The Tigers have 10 championship appearances in the AIA era with eight titles but the last trophy came in 2001. Historically, St. David has five more mythical state titles dating back to 1947 to give the program 13 state championships overall. Mogollon has beaten St. David three straight times now but Hayden has beaten both programs a combined seven times since 2022 including a 62-30 win over Mogollon in the state championship game last year.

Hayden also beat Mogollon 50-20 this year to remain undefeated at 5-0. The Lobos have a 17-game win streak going and a 27-1 record since 2022. The Lobos have taken the top spot in the 1A Conference over in a big way.

St. David (4-1) and Mogollon (4-1) battled back and forth early with the score tied 14-14 after the first quarter but the Mustangs took a 34-22 lead at the half when the Tigers were unable to cash in on a muffed punt by the Mustangs and then a long pass play to the Mustang three was fumbled away and Mogollon took a knee to run the clock out.

Mogollon went on to build what looked like a safe 42-22 lead with 10:13 left in the third quarter but the Tigers stayed within striking distance the rest of the way. St. David freshman quarterback Vincent Ciccariello entered the contest with no interceptions on the year but it was a testament to the Mustang defense that they came up with two huge ones.

Ciccariello went 10-23 for 195 yards with three touchdowns, Chase Pacheco rushed for 76 yards on 17 carries, Cedar Haynie rushed for 57 yards with a TD, Gannon Carrafa pulled in 109 yards on four receptions and a TD catch and Grayson Merrill and Roman Tilton also had TD catches. Haynie also had a 76-yard return for a score.

On the other side, Quinn Tenney threw for 154 yards with three TDs, Brody Porter gained 102 yards rushing with two TDs, Kaleb Porter had two rushing TDS, Tenney had a rushing TD, Ryan Schalow had two TDs and Brett Parry and Stetson Ownes also scored for Mogollon. Brody Porter and Yovanni Suarez had interceptions.

Mogollon will host El Capitan (4-1) next week and St. David will travel to Valley Union (3-1). Mogollon competes in the 1A North Region and St. David in the 1A South while Hayden is in the 1A East Region. The 1A Conference awards automatic playoff spots to region champions and the playoff bracket fields 12 teams starting on Oct. 25.

Mogollon head coach Drew Gamboa. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

St. David head coach Braden Davis. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)