Let it rain. Let it pour.

 

The No. 4 Salpointe Lancers were coming off of a 31-18 victory over top-seeded Prescott in the semifinal round on Wednesday, and the near arctic conditions prepared them for what came down from the sky Saturday - day and night - at Corona del Sol High School. Clinging to a 7-0 lead over No. 2 Eastmark with 4:07 left in the third quarter, a flash in the sky caused a delay that turned into a couple of hours and then came the rain and more rain. When the danger of more lightning passed, the Lancers emerged from their locker room dressed in maroon long coats the team borrowed from the Lancer swim team and then Salpointe went on to win the 4A state championship 17-0.

“We were prepared for this,” Salpointe head coach Barrie Pedersen exalted from his sideline as the game was resuming through the pouring rain. “Let it rain.”

And it did.

A large roar came out of the Salpointe locker room when an AIA official informed them the game was about to resume after two hours. The team came out in maroon long coats borrowed from their swim classmates. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

The Lancer defense continued to play tough and a forced punt turned into a 30-yard return Jhianae DesRosier to flip the field. Isla Collins took the ball in from 13 yards out several plays later to make it 14-0 with 5:35 left. A field goal from Andie Tkalcevic made it 17-0 with 1:54 left and an interception from Kiara Mendoza closed out the victory.

Salpointe led 7-0 on a previous run by Collins with 31 seconds left in the first but the game was in doubt most of the way and an interception by Aliyah Adger in the end zone ended the best shot Eastmark had to tie the game. That score held up until late in the third quarter.

Salpointe ended the year with a 16-1 record with the one loss coming at 6A powerhouse Marana in late October. The Lancers proceeded to knock off the top two seeds to claim the 4A championship in the first year of the program. According to Pedersen, over 60 girls tried out for the team so this program is on solid ground, especially with Team USA QB Collins taking the snaps for three more years. The freshman had 124 yards passing against Eastmark and 105 yards rushing with two TDs. Adger had 42 yards receiving with the interception and DesRosier finished with 35 yards receiving.

For Eastmark, the team has had early success under head coach Nick Garces, including a 13-1 record in 2024 as a 5A program and a 14-2 record in power ranking games this fall in the 4A Conference. Like Salpointe, the Firebirds suffered an early loss to Marana but the team controlled their own destiny from there and rolled, including take out No. 3 Mingus Union 14-10 in the semifinal round.

Jr. QB Paige McCrabb had an impressive outing with 151 yards passing, Mikaela Oberstein had 52 yards receiving and Kinsley McCarty had 49 yards catching plus an interception.

Eastmark. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Salpointe head coach Barrie Pedersen accepted the 4A Sportmanship Award from Dr. Jim Dean of the AIA. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

THE PLAYS

THE AWARDS

Collins was named Offensive MVP for Salpointe and Ava Torres was the defensive MVP. The Lancers wer also awarded the 4A Sportsmanship Award during the game. Coollins was als named the Fiesta Bowl MVP.

THE INTERVIEWS