A solid rushing game. Defense. Special teams. All were present Friday night for Phoenix Desert Vista as the Thunder knocked off third-seeded Mesa Mountain View 17-7 in the 5A Division I quarterfinals at Toro Stadium.

Desert Vista finally beats its nemesis

Desert Vista (8-4), the No. 11 seed, snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Toros dating back to the 1999 regular season, and advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in eight years.

The Thunder will next face No. 2 seed Mesa Red Mountain, a 21-0 winner over Chandler Basha, at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at a site to be determined.

Desert Vista used a kickoff return, a fumble recovery by its kickoff team, a staunch defense and 225 yards rushing to turn back Mountain View (9-3).

"Our guys did what it took to win," Desert Vista coach Dan Hinds said. "Momentum is a big thing, and when we got it in the second quarter it really helped us."

A pair of touchdowns three minutes apart in the second quarter put Desert Vista in command.

After Mountain View scored first on an 11-yard run from Jake Swisher, Desert Vista’s Luke Matthews, one of the Thunder running backs who pounded away at the Toros all night, returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Desert Vista 48. Three plays later, Marcus Washington, who ripped off a 40-yard run on the first play of the drive, scored on an 8-yard run to tie the score with 7:36 left before halftime.

On the next play, Desert Vista backup tight end Hunter Grams pounced on a fumble on the kickoff at the Toro 28. Cole Pembroke then scored from 5 yards out for a 14-7 lead with 4:51 remaining in the half.

Desert Vista’s stable of backs were led by Allante Battle (58 yards rushing), Washington (50), Matthews (50), Devon Kennard (32) and Chris Jones (23). None had more than nine carries.

"We wanted to run the ball right at them and that’s what we did," Hinds said. "We played solid defense. Their offense is a tough thing to stop if you let them get rolling. We didn’t let them get rolling after the second quarter."

Mountain View, which has used ball control to turn back many opponents this season, had the tables turned a bit. Mountain View had the ball three plays in the third quarter and gained 1 yard. The Toros’ only productive drive of the second half died at the Thunder 36 with five minutes to play.

"We didn’t have the ball much at all the second half," Mountain View coach Tom Joseph said. "The chances we had early we didn’t take advantage of."

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