Desert Mountain High School defeated Pinnacle 21-17 Friday in the second round of the 5A-II state playoffs in Phoenix on a game-winning touchdown pass with just over a minute to go.

After losing at Pinnacle 27-17 in the regular season, the Wolves had their revenge as quarterback Drew Seaman led a 56-yard touchdown drive in the last minutes of the game to eliminate the Pioneers.

After blowing an early 10-0 lead, the Pioneers regained the lead when Alex Cappellini hit Alex Zemezonak for a 12 yard touchdown pass to put the Pioneers up 17-14 with 7:35 left in the game.

The Wolves received the ball but faced a fourth-and-nine after only four plays. Wolves’ coach Tony Tabor decided to rely on his defense for a big stop instead of going for the fourth and long. The decision would pay off.

The DMHS defense had been the foundation for the Wolves’ success all year, and with the game on the line, the defense came up big yet again.

On the first play of the Pioneers’ drive, the Wolves defense stopped running back Connor Jefferies for a 1-yard gain. On second down, defensive lineman Tyeler Davison got in Cappellini’s face and batted his pass down. On third down, Cappellini tried to scramble, but Stephin DiMascio came up with a sack, forcing Pinnacle to punt the ball with just over four minutes left in the game.

After a short 29 yard punt, the Wolves took over from their own 44. Seaman was 5-for-5 through the air for 40 yards on the seven-play drive that culminated in a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sam Demaree.

The touchdown gave the Wolves a 21-17 lead with 1:17 left on the clock. Pinnacle tried to go deep on its second play of the ensuing drive, but the Cappellini pass was picked off by Kyle Tokasey.

The Wolves pounded the ball up the middle with Kevin Radcliffe three consecutive times and were able to get a first down, forcing Pinnacle to burn its final timeout. When, on first down, Seaman attempted to kneel down and run the clock out, a fracas between players from each team ensued when two Pioneer players shoved Seaman to the ground.

After a few minutes, the referees were able to take control of the situation and run the game clock out giving DMHS the victory and handing Pinnacle a tough loss.

The Pioneers took a 10-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game on a 42 yard field goal by Zemezonak and a 10 yard touchdown run by Cappellini. However, the Wolves were able to claw their way back into the game thanks to some staunch play from their defense, tough running from Radcliffe and efficiency through the air by Seaman.

The Wolves struck back in the second quarter when Seaman hit Anthony Snyder for a 10-yard touchdown pass to bring the Wolves within three. DMHS then took a 14-10 lead after Radcliffe topped off their first drive of the second half with a 16-yard touchdown run.

With the win, DMHS advances to the 5A-II state playoff semifinals and will play Chaparral High School next week. The Wolves defeated Chaparral 27-20 in the last game of the regular season.