#7 Corona Del Sol Storms Back to Defeat #10 Pinnacle in 6A Opening Round

TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 7 Corona del Sol Aztecs overcame an early deficit to defeat the No. 10 Pinnacle Pioneers 38-21 in Tuesday night’s 6A girls flag football first round playoff matchup.

Corona del Sol opened the game with the ball, quickly making their presence known after sophomore quarterback Victoria Beakes took off for a long run early.

The drive looked promising until a tipped ball was intercepted by Pinnacle senior athlete Sydney Ersland.

Turning the momentum to the other side of the field with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter.

When Pinnacle took over possession, they marched their way down the field after multiple rushes by Ersland.

However, the Aztecs would not allow the Pioneers to reach the end zone, forcing the Pioneers to elect for a field goal.

Making the field goal was freshman athlete Brianna Naylor, who kicked it through the uprights to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead with just seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Corona del Sol attempted to respond on its next possession, but Pinnacle’s defense continued to apply pressure.

On Corona del Sol’s second play of their drive, Beakes misread her wide receiver and threw an interception to Pinnacle freshman athlete Layna Leyba on an overthrown ball.

The big play by Leyba put the Pioneers in great field position.

Once again, the Aztecs would not let the Pioneers cross the end zone, yet Naylor knocked down her second field goal of the night for Pinnacle.

The field goal extended their lead to 6-0 with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Pioneers carried their 6-0 advantage into the second quarter, continuing to put pressure on the Aztecs’ offense.

Pinnacle once again held the Aztecs and took back possession, and shortly afterwards they had their best drive of the night.

After a crucial catch by Pinnacle sophomore athlete Rhilynn Mongovan and a great jump-ball reception by junior athlete Grace Peace, Ersland launched the ball down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

The touchdown was caught by Pinnacle sophomore athlete Elaina Cloud.

Pinnacle then led 13-0.

The Aztecs looked to put some points on the board before the end of the half, as Beakes launched a deep one to Corona del Sol senior athlete Aaliyah Van Heel, taking them past the 50-yard line.

Van Heel actually came up with two big receptions this drive; however, the Aztecs were stopped on fourth down when Pinnacle senior athlete Lyla Campbell deflected the pass.

After Pinnacle took over possession, Corona del Sol came up with a crucial interception when junior athlete Sofia Villone jumped the pass and returned it for a pick-six.

With 1:30 remaining in the half, the Aztecs cut their deficit to 13-7.

The interception gave Corona del Sol a much-needed spark heading into halftime, cutting Pinnacle’s lead to 13-7.

“At first we started a little rough, I’m not gonna lie, my whole team was down,” Villone mentioned following the game.

“After my pick-six, I felt like I’d really lit the fire there; it turned the whole game around. Everyone had their heads down, and the second I scored, everyone's heads were up. The momentum just never stopped after that."

Coming out of the break, the Aztecs carried that momentum into the second half, looking to make up for the slow start.

The Aztecs had a lengthy offensive drive, including a crucial play on fourth down when Beakes connected with junior center Kelce Reforgiate for a first down.

The Aztecs completed the drive with a touchdown after Beakes hit Villone for a touchdown, taking their first lead of the night with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

When Pinnacle took back over, they could not find any answers for a highly motivated Aztec defense.

The Aztecs forced multiple incompletions that led to Villone getting her second interception of the night with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Momentum had completely shifted to Corona del Sol's sideline.

At the end of the third quarter, the Aztecs had made their way into the red zone after some short completions to sophomore athlete Harper Thorne.

However, this time Pinnacle’s defense held strong, forcing the Aztecs to elect for a field goal.

With 10:57 remaining in the game, senior kicker Elliana Gamero successfully kicked the field goal in between the uprights to extend the team's lead to 17-13.

Corona del Sol’s defense continued to dominate, as Pinnacle turned the ball over on downs.

Corona del Sol’s offense continued to stay in rhythm as junior athlete Amyah Anderson outran all of the Pioneer defenders to the outside for a rushing touchdown.

Pinnacle needed an answer, but the Aztecs continued to control the momentum on both sides of the ball, stopping the Pioneers' defense once again.

Corona del Sol’s offense kept its foot on the gas, adding another touchdown after Villone caught the ball in the corner of the end zone, extending their lead to 31-13 and tallying a hat trick for Villone.

With just under two minutes remaining, Pinnacle managed to find the end zone once again after Campbell intercepted a deep pass by Beakes.

Then on offense catching a long receiving touchdown, cutting the deficit to 31-21.

With less than a minute remaining, the Aztecs found the end zone once more after Van Heel caught the ball in the back of the end zone for her first touchdown of the night.

The touchdown capped a dominant fourth quarter for the Aztecs, who scored 24 points in the final quarter to put the game out of reach.

With the victory, the No. 7 Corona del Sol advances to the 6A quarterfinals, where they will host the No. 15 Casteel Colts on Saturday, following the Colts historic upset of #2 Basha.