Arizona Lutheran Academy's captains watch the pregame coin toss before advancing to the 2A semifinals. Photo by Bailey Warren/azpreps365.com

The Pima Roughriders led 27-19 going into the in the fourth quarter and needed one stop to start milking the clock and pull off the upset.

But it was Arizona Lutheran Academy that wound up dictating the ending to this game.

After a roughing the passer penalty, Arizona Lutheran's Jacob Holguin made an incredible 27-yard touchdown grab to cut Pima’s lead to 27-25 after a failed two point conversion. Jack Shaumberg then intercepted a pass that led to a seven play, 43-yard scoring drive to help send Arizona Lutheran to the 2A semifinals with a 33-27 Friday night home victory.

“This was just a tough game,” Arizona Lutheran head coach Dave Peter said. “Pima is well coached. They are tough kids with a desire that is phenomenal. We are proud of our effort, but we have a lot of things to clean up. There were a lot of penalty flags out there that we have to fix. We are excited to be back in the semifinals, and we know Benson is going to be tough.”

Arizona Lutheran will face No. 3 Benson on Saturday at Desert Vista High School in a state semifinal rematch.

Benson won last year’s game 34-27.

When asked about his big catch Holguin explained, “The only thing going through my head was hearing the crowd after that catch. We have been putting a lot of work in throughout the whole week and we definitely saw it through this game. We found a way to be on top because of our hard work and dedication.”

Holguin, 2A’s touchdown leader this season, finished the game with four receptions for 70 yards and two receiving touchdowns as well as a 27-yard rushing touchdown.

Despite the loss, Pima, which won only eight games in the last three seasons, won seven this year.

“I am proud of our kids and the season that they had,” Pima head coach Jim Hughes said. “We battled some adversity tonight as big plays swung both ways. But the work our kids put into this season shows that we have come a long way. We are happy with where the program is headed. When it comes to the playoffs there is only going to be one happy camper and that is the guy holding the gold ball at the end of the year. Both teams were battling with the penalties and that is part of the game. You don’t have to like it, but you have to accept it.”

Both teams had a combined 21 penalties, including an ejection to a Pima junior running back early in the third quarter.

Pima turned the ball over on its first two possessions of the game, leading to 13 points for Arizona Lutheran Academy but climbed its way back and led 19-13 at the break. Getting the ball to start the second half, Pima went on a 14-0 scoring run to make it 27-19 until Arizona Lutheran Academy finished on its own 14-0 run.