Even after last week's landslide continued into Friday, Cactus regrouped, scoring the final five touchdowns of the game to defeat Peoria 35-14 in the 40th all-time meeting between the schools.

Coming off a 44-0 loss last week against Desert Mountain, Cactus head coach Brian Belles saw this game as a chance for his players to show their resilience. Although going down by two scores within the first 15 minutes of the game is not what he had in mind, Belles said his team did an excellent job at responding to adversity.

“After you get beat the way we got beat last week, it’s hard to come out with the energy that you probably need,” Belles said. “Not everything is going to go your way, but I’m proud of the way our kids were able to weather the storm and claw black into the game.”

Things did not go the Cobras’ way early on,. In Peoria’s second drive of the game, junior quarterback Dominic Kramer looked for a deep ball on third and long and found senior wide receiver Angel Vasquez down the field for a 43-yard score.

The rest of the first quarter saw no more scoring, but the end of the first 12 minutes of play saw Cactus finally gain a bit of momentum. Cobras senior running back Tayejion Player had back-to-back gains of more than 10 yards to end the quarter, and the Panthers did not look to have an answer for the Cobras.

On a third down play to begin the second quarter, however, Peoria’s defense came up with a turnover as linebacker Desean Williams intercepted a pass from Cactus junior quarterback Antonio Casias. Then on the very next play, Kramer once again found Vasquez over the top, this time beating two defenders down the field, for a 57-yard touchdown and a 14-0 Peoria lead with 11:40 remaining in the half.

Panthers head coach Jason Golden said he loved the way things started off for his side, even after arriving an hour late to the stadium due to an issue with the team buses.

“It kind of messed up our pre-game routine, but our kids handled the adversity,” Golden said. “It’s always a hostile environment over here, but I was very proud of our kids the way they played on both sides of the ball.”

Things did not look ideal for Cactus at this point, but the game turned in the Cobras favor, and they never looked back.

Immediately following the Panthers’ second touchdown, the Cobras marched down the field, going 75 yards on  nine plays in less than four minutes. Of the nine plays, six of them went for 10 or more yards, including the final play of the drive: a 13-yard rushing touchdown from senior tight end Tristan Varga.

On the ensuing Peoria possession, a 44-yard kick return from Brandon Castellanos set up the Panthers offense at midfield. The Panthers reach the edge of the redzone, as the Cobras caused a fumble to get the ball back with about four minutes left in the half.

Again, Cactus was able to move the ball with chunk plays, along with a Peoria pass interference, and it set up the Cobras for a 10-yard touchdown rush from senior running back John Jones to even the game at 14-14 heading into the half.

Peoria looked to retake their earlier lead, but on just the third play of the drive, Kramer was intercepted by Cactus freshman defensive back Daylen Moore to give the Cobras starting field position on the Peoria side of midfield.

The drive started off with Casias scrambling for 14 yards and a first down. On the next play, Player found a lane up the middle of the Panthers defense and burst towards the endzone for the 23-yard score.

As the rest of the quarter rolled on, Player continued to play a key role, gaining yards seemingly every time that he touched the ball. 

“Our offensive line was really key at the end of the first half and all of the second half,” Belles said. “They opened up holes, and he (Player) is a stud. He reads his blocks well, he’s got good speed, and he played his tail off tonight.”

Cactus grew its lead to 28-14 mid-way through the fourth quarter on a 64-yard pass up the seam to senior cornerback/wide receiver Gabriel Sotelo. Less than two minutes later, the Cobras struck again, with Player gaining more than 50 yards on two consecutive plays, including a 49-yard rush to find the endzone and seal the 35-14 victory.

Up next for Peoria, the Panthers will look to bounce back on a short week, starting region play with a Thursday night at Youngker.  The Cobras, they look to build off this win and get revenge for a 2023 loss at Canyon View on Friday night.