AZ Reign (Mountain Pointe) Wins Gotta Believe Gridiron Classic

The Gotta Believe Gridiron Classic featured players all over Arizona battling it out to crown themselves champions. 

The high school bracket saw multiple games go down to the wire. 

Here are the games we covered Saturday morning.

Colts vs. OWTK Hawks

The last game of pool play for both the Colts (all Casteel players) and OWTK Hawks (all Highland players) would determine crucial seeding for bracket play. 

Opening the game up for the Colts was '29 DB Hezekiah Smith, snagging an interception on the opening drive. 

The Colts offense would respond with a duo that dominated during the 2025 season.

'27 QB Tee Smith connected with '27 athlete Troy Jauregui for their first TD of the game to take an 8-0.

After the rough start on offense OWTK Hawks' offense would bounce back with a touchdown drive. 

The Hawks marched down the field and capped the drive off as '27 QB Paiden Cash Dalhaug found '27 athlete Enzo Nguyen for a short touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good. 

OWTK Hawks’ defense would come through as the drive after catching the touchdown Nguyen made a leaping catch for an interception. 

Getting their first lead of the game, the Hawks would score two more touchdowns as Dalhaug threw his second and third touchdown passes of the game. 

The Colts would then find a rhythm and get back to finding the end zone. 

Smith would go on to find '27 WR Aaden Tang in the back of the endzone to cut the Hawks' lead. 

The defense for the Colts would go on to get a crucial stop and give the offense a chance to win the game.

Finishing pool play in dramatic fashion, Smith would throw the game-winning touchdown pass to '28 wide receiver Daniel Gallardo.

The Colts took down the OWTK Hawks 22-21. 

Colts vs. Valley’s Finest 

After both winning their first games in bracket play, the Colts and Valley’s Finest would square off against each other.

The Colts would strike first in the contest as Smith found his go-to target, Jauregui, on a slant route that led to a touchdown. 

Responding quickly, Valley’s Finest took back the lead.

Red Mountain’s new duo of '28 QB Dayne Silver and '27 WR Airreon Windom would connect for a 5-yard touchdown before a successful two-point conversion.

On their next drive, Valley’s Finest would once again get into the end zone with ease. 

This time, it was Silver finding Chandler’s 2027 wide receiver Kaydon Gray for the score.

The Colts would then fire off two more touchdowns of their own to take back the lead. 

Smith threw two more touchdown passes, one of them being to Jauregui for the second time in the game. 

The defense came through for the Colts, too, as Hezekiah Smith jumped a route to grab an interception. 

Valley’s Finest took part in the shootout and put the pressure back on the Colts as they took the lead right back. 

The touchdown would once again be scored by Windom, who caught the pass from Silver. 

Valley’s Finest would eventually go on to ice the game as they scored one last touchdown as Silver found ALA Queen Creek '27 WR Stetson Agne. 

Valley’s Finest would hold on and beat the Colts 29-27 and move on to the next round. 

AZ Angels vs. Alpha Recruits

The AZ Angels and the Alpha Recruits went head-to-head in the quarterfinals, with the winner making it to the final four teams. 

The AZ Angels would prove to be too much for the Alpha Recruits as they went on to dominate this game.

Scoring almost instantly, the Angels wasted no time. 

Liberty '29 quarterback Jason Haines threw a perfect deep ball to Thunderbird '28 WR Daryl Little for a 40-yard touchdown. 

Seeming like an immovable force, Haines would throw four more touchdown passes in the game, another one being to Little and one being to Liberty '27 wide receiver Carter Rothe. 

The defense for the Angels also was also elite as they ended the game with three total interceptions. 

The AZ Angels dismantled the Alpha Recruits 38-0 and moved on to the semifinals with a lot of momentum behind them. 

New Era vs. AZ Reign

New Era vs. AZ Reign (all Mountain Pointe players) semifinal proved to be one of the best games of the day, with the winner heading to the championship game. 

New Era would get on the board first, as their first drive was seamless and they scored with ease. 

AZ Reign didn’t roll over, however, and they scored a one-play touchdown as '27 QB Kristian Escobedo fired a deep shot to '28 ATH LeGarrette Blount Jr.

Wasting no time, New Era’s offense gave its defense only a small breather as they would score quickly again. 

Answering the call, AZ Reign would answer back with a touchdown of their own. 

Throwing the touchdown pass was once again Escobedo, as this time he connected with Mountain Pointe '28 WR Makai Nelson.

The shootout would continue between both teams as they would each score two more touchdowns. 

Escobedo would throw two more touchdown passes, one to Nelson and another one to '29 athlete Sonny Norwood. 

The game was tied at 29 a piece and headed into overtime. 

Making the game-winning play for AZ Reign was Nelson. 

After catching two touchdowns, Nelson would get it done on the defensive end too as he snatched an interception in the end zone and helped send his team to the championship game. 

AZ Reign won the shootout match over New Era 30-29. 

AZ Reign vs. Valley’s Finest (Championship Game)

Fighting for the trophy for the Gotta Believe Gridiron Classic tournament, AZ Reign and Valley’s Finest would play one final game for the day. 

Scoring first in the championship game was AZ Reign. 

Escobedo would find Norwood on a wheel route, and Norwood would do the rest with his legs and scamper into the end zone. 

Getting off to a hot start, AZ Reign would tack on to their lead.

It was once again Escobedo connecting with Norwood for the touchdown, giving AZ Reign a 14-0 lead. 

Valley’s Finest would finally have something go their way after falling behind early, as they scored their first points of the game.

It would be Silver finding one of his favorite targets in Windom for the touchdown, and putting Valley’s Finest on the board. 

After letting up the touchdown, AZ Reign’s offense would go on and score yet again.

The drive was all Nelson for AZ Reign. 

Making the play of the day, Nelson climbed the top of the ladder to make a one-handed snag.

A few plays later, Escobedo would once again find Nelson, this time in the end zone. 

Valley’s Finest kept trying to claw their way back into the game as Silver threw another touchdown pass to cut the lead. 

The offense for AZ Reign seemed unstoppable, though, as they once again scored.

It was again the strong connection of Escobedo and Nelson connecting for a touchdown and putting AZ Reign up by two possessions once more. 

Late in the game, Valley’s Finest attempted a comeback as Silver threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Maricopa '27 athlete Fabian Marrufo. 

It ended up being too little too late for Valley’s Finest, though, as time was not on their side. 

AZ Reign would close out the game and beat Valley’s Finest 28-21 and be crowned the champions of the Gotta Believe Gridiron Classic tournament. 

To access camera footage from the tournament, go to the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KerNYJE_nQsBtxMTLqCx3JrYNaGTZYl9?usp=sharing

To download phone clips that were posted to our twitter account, copy and paste the link of the tweet to this website to download the clip: https://ssstwitter.com/