Jorge Montiel is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPeps365.com . 

Two weeks ago, no one was thinking that the Chaparral Firebirds men's basketball team were going to come close. 

They had lost three games straight, two out of those three by over 10 points.

However, they have turned things around. The Firebirds defeated Copper Canyon to start off the month. 

The following day on their senior night they defeated the dreaded Cactus Shadows that beat them by 15 points in their last encounter.

Head Coach Dan Peterson was very pleased with their performance against Cactus Shadows.

“I thought they did a great job tonight. I am proud of all of them. Not only the seniors but the whole team. This is always a team effort,” Peterson said.

As much of a feel-good moment as this is, there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We gotta be able to take care of the ball. We have to have better possessions consistently. If we can do that we are going to be a tough out this postseason.” 

While Peterson is very optimistic about making the playoffs, it isn't clear-cut yet. If they do win three games in a row by beating the Horizon Huskies they might be able to pull this off yet.

The Horizon Huskies do not have the best record, they have lost their last seven games.

The Huskies do not have much momentum to go off of at the moment. 

However, the Firebirds cannot overlook them. Time and time again there have been upsets in sports. 

Whether it was because the underdog had nothing to lose or the favored team was too confident.    

The Firebirds have their head coach’s complete and utter confidence for a reason. 

Players like Ben Rosenberg, a senior, who takes pride in playing at his best every single game. Chaparral means a lot to Ben Rosenberg. 

“There is so much joy, so much passion. I grew up here as a little kid watching Chaparral games and watching them play in the hoop hall. This is a dream of mine,” Rosenberg said. 

Rosenberg is a player who thrives on momentum and energy.

He had great handling skills and a high-octane offensive repertoire that really got the team going. 

He showed that in the game against Cactus Shadow. He scored over half of the team's points in the first half. “I try to feed my guys first and build off of that. It worked great from the get-go. We were all clicking,” Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg isn’t the only one burning with passion, Nick Corbo took a bad spill halfway through the game and it didn't look like he was going to go back in initially.

“I heard like a knuckle crack, I was worried it popped. Then I got back up then I was like oh yeah I'm fine. To give us the best chance to win I just had to buckle up, tie my ankle together, and go back out there,” Corbo said. 

That is the kind of passion and teamwork this team is going to need to go to the playoffs and get far in them. Time will tell how it shakes out.

One thing is for the Firebirds and their fans are in for one heck of a ride. 

They will play the Horizon Huskies on Monday, Feb. 5 in their final game of the season.