5A Saguaro versus 6A Chaparral.

The Arizona high school Game of the Week.

The much anticipated cross-town rivalry game was not played last season due to COVID-19.

After a seesaw battle early Friday, it appeared that Saguaro might run away with it as it took a 20-7 lead going into halftime. Coming out of the half, Chaparral struggled to move the ball as the rowdy Firebird faithful began to lose their home field advantage.

It wasn’t until Saguaro’s first drive of the second half that something happened to ignite the Firebirds in the most unlikely of ways.

Saguaro’s Jaedon Matthews took an outside handoff and cleared Chaparral’s second level for what should have been a 51-yard dagger to the Firebird defense. But senior cornerback Davondre Bucannon chased down Matthews for not only a touchdown saving tackle at the 3-yard line but also forced a fumble that resulted in a touchback. The play of Bucannon shifted the momentum of the game, sucking the air out of the Sabercat sideline and giving the Firebirds new life.

After the forced fumble, Chaparral would proceed to outscore Saguaro 20-6 in the second half to secure a 27-26 victory for the Firebirds.

“I wanted to get the ball out,” Bucannon said. “I knew if I stripped it then it would go into the end zone and give us the momentum to win this game. We needed a spark of energy.”

It certainly turned the tide.

“This means everything,” Bucannon said. “This coaching staff wanted it so badly after we lost two years ago. We had to bring passion to this game and find our purpose.”

Not only did Bucannon help his team turn the momentum but continued to sustain the pressure on Saguaro.

After a Chaparral punt, Saguaro had an opportunity to take the lead back, being only down one at the time. Ridge Docekal dropped back and took a shot down field to a wide open Sabercat, who would have walked in for a touchdown. But just as he did earlier in the second half, Bucannon came out of nowhere to deflect the pass harmlessly to the turf.

Saguaro wound up punting and Chaparral scored again on the ensuing drive.

“He (Bucannon) did that last year in the playoffs against Queen Creek, the exact same thing and it turned the tide in that game too,” coach Brent Barnes said. “The kid is special and he proved that tonight by making some great plays. It shows the heart and effort in that kid.”

 

Chaparral will take their 3-1 record and defend its home field again as it welcomes Sandra Day O’Connor next week.

To listen to Bucannon's interview during the azpreps365 Saturday Morning Show, go to the second hour of the 9/25/21 show: