The budding northeast Valley rivalry between No. 9-seeded Scottsdale Desert Mountain and No. 5 Scottsdale Horizon entered a new chapter on Friday, Nov. 28, when the two met in the 5A football state semifinals with a trip to the state title game on the line.
True to form for a classic rivalry, it was a close, low-scoring affair that was decided in the closing seconds when Desert Mountain junior kicker Koen Bradley successfully hit a 23-yard field goal to secure a 20-17 victory for the Wolves, which had lost to Horizon in the regular season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith the win, Desert Mountain (11-3) next will face No. 6-seeded Canyon View, which defeated No. 2 ALA Gilbert North on Friday, 34-24.
The Desert Mountain Wolves celebrate their win over the Horizon Huskies in a 5A semifinal playoff game on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.Key plays
After the Wolves scored a touchdown in the opening moments of the fourth quarter to go-ahead 17-10, Horizon (10-3) responded with 3:47 left in regulation when senior running back Bodie Zamorano found the end zone on a 3-yard run into the end zone that tied the game at 17.
Horizon responded on its next drive by meticulously going down the field and eating up clock, leaving just enough time for Bradley to attempt his field goal with just :05 left in regulation, leaving Horizon virtually no time to respond and sealing the victory.
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Horizon was led on offense by junior receiver James Klopfenstein and Zamorano. Klopfenstein, who entered the game leading the 5A Northwest Region with 19 touchdowns, connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Carter Puma in the third quarter to tie the game at 10. Zamorano again tied the game up late in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard dash into the end zone.
Desert Mountain running back Easton Conner (8) watches the action from the sideline during the Wolves 5A playoff game vs. Horizon on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.Aside from Bradley’s heroics, Desert Mountain received a boost on offense thanks in large part to a pair of rushing touchdowns from sophomore Easton Conner. The first one came came with 2:32 left before halftime that gave his team a 10-0 lead, while Conner’s second score was the one that put the Wolves ahead 17-10.
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“What we’re the most proud of is we’re the only team in 5A that has played 14 games all year, we haven’t had a bye. We don’t even have 100 kids in our program. Our kids are tough physically and mentally, but I can’t be more proud of their efforts.” - Desert Mountain head coach Conrad Hamilton.
Desert Mountain running back Easton Conner (8) watches the action from the sideline during the Wolves 5A playoff game vs. Horizon on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.“In practice every single week we work on that and we do drills to help with that, and the second time they iced me my holder snapped me the ball and to be able to get that first kick in, it was a nice practice rep and it prepared me mentally knowing I could get that [second] kick through.” - Desert Mountain kicker Koen Bradley on Horizon calling two timeouts before he successfully hit the game-winning kick
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No. 9 Desert Mountain will face No. 6 Waddell Canyon View for the 5A state championship on Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. The two teams did not meet in the regular season. Canyon View (11-2) has won seven straight games.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Desert Mountain advances to 5A title game with win over Horizon
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