Mateo Arenas is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Pinnacle High School for AZPreps365.com

Senior Night can be a lasting memory for athletes nearing the end of their high school careers, especially when hosting a challenging opponent for the celebratory game.

This was the case for Pinnacle’s Senior Night last year, when the Pioneers lost to the eventual AIA Open Division champion Saguaro. And it would be the case again this season, with the school playing host to Centennial, the No. 2 team in the state. 

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, it was a similar result, as Pinnacle fell short 31-6 against the Coyotes.

Pinnacle struggled to get things going on offense all game, as drive after drive, a crucial penalty, turnover, or offensive mishap seemed to stifle any momentum the Pioneers tried to muster. Junior quarterback Wyatt Horton was under constant pressure, getting sacked six times and throwing for only 51 yards through three quarters, with Coyotes’ defenders hurrying the quarterback on virtually every snap.

“Centennial is a great program,” Horton said. “They're a great team. They got the best of us today, and they did what they needed to do. I'm just proud of our team and the no-quit mentality. Stuff doesn't always go your way, but this is a team that's not gonna lay down, and not going to quit no matter the circumstances. Got to give [Centennial] credit, but at the same time, still so proud of the guys and how they fought.”

Centennial was led by a monster two-way performance by four-star recruit Noah Carter, who has committed to the University of Washington. Carter was a major part of the continuous defensive pressure on Horton from the edge. Along with this, Carter had a couple of big kick returns for the Coyotes, and caught four passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns from quarterbacks Kainan Manna and Danny Avila.

After a fumble and a turnover on downs derailed the Pioneers’ only positive offensive drives of the first half, head coach Dana Zupke looked for a way to light a spark on offense. Pinnacle came out of the break with an unsuccessful onside kick and followed that up with multiple fake punts in the second half. The Pioneers would score their only touchdown of the game with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, as sophomore quarterback Drew Varsano threw to senior wide receiver Luke Hoover for a 23-yard score after the starters were pulled to begin the quarter.

“We were just looking for something to give us some momentum,” Zupke said of the trickery in the second half. “Our kids were doing a really good job of keeping their energy up. We've worked really hard on keeping our sidelines up no matter what's happening in the game, but you're still looking for that momentum play.”

“There's some things we worked on that we just didn't execute. We work on them every day in practice, and we call them, and hopefully they execute. It just didn't work out,” Zupke said. “We're just searching for anything in a game like this against a good team. You're gonna try everything, and we're gonna compete.”

With the loss, Pinnacle falls to 6-3, with a big matchup against Saguaro on the horizon to round out the regular season. It is unclear whether the Pioneers will be playing in the Open Division or the 6A bracket in the playoffs, but the loss makes it more likely that Pinnacle will return to the 6A playoff where it reached the championship game last season. Although it is clear the playoffs are near, for the time being, the Pioneers have their sights set on rebounding against Saguaro.

“[Playing at Pinnacle] means everything to me. I love my team, and it was a great night tonight even though we lost,” said senior running back Mason Hughes, who ran for 64 yards on his Senior Night. “Of course, we're gonna wipe this game. We're not worried about anything. We knew [Centennial] was good, and we tried to battle, but we're just onto Saguaro next week.”

The game is at 7 p.m. at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale.