It's been a rivalry overall owned by McClintock, but Tempe High rises every now and then to strike a blow for the Buffaloes' faithful.

That came Thursday night when Tempe rode the arm of sophomore quarterback Emmanuel Gant (four touchdown passes) to a thrilling 32-28 triumph at McClintock.

McClintock, which has won about 75 percent of the 40-plus meetings between the schools in the rivalry which began in the mid 1960s, had won the last seven in a row. Tempe last prevailed in 2004 (38-14) Tempe also was proud to score a remarkable turnaround in this game from last year. McClintock pounded Tempe last year, 47-14.

(Emmanuel) played very well for a sophomore," Tempe coach Brian Walker said. "He made some great throws and we had some great catches. ..."

Walker, who played for McClintock once upon a time, was thrilled with the outcome even if it came at the expense of his alma mater.

"I've been called a traitor by some, but tonight my players played their hearts out for me and the coaches did the same," Walker said. "I't's a big win for the program."

Tempe, which had one win in the last two seasons,  took a 19-6 lead to intermission behind two TD passes from Gant (both to junior standout wide out Sebastion Watkins). Gant scored the other first-half TD on a quarterback sneak.

Gant, who played in seven games at the varsity level last year as freshman, finished 21-of-27 for 307 yards. His first two passes of the game were intercepted -- deep balls that served as punts as much as turnovers. His favorite target, Watkins, was sensational. Watkins, who is just 5-foot-6 and weighs 140 pounds, caught 12 passes for 207 yards and three TDs.

"He's small, but he plays very big and he's tough," Walker said. "He's very smart out there."

Tempe could have delivered a knockout blow on its first possession of the third period. The Buffaloes marched to the McClintock 2, but fumbled and the Chargers recovered in the end zone. Eleven plays and 80 yards later McClintiock sliced the deficit to 19-14 on 3-yard pass from quarterback Xaveir Gomez to Sammy Jones.

Jones and teammate Josh Aberle took turns -- especially in the second half -- ripping through Tempe's defense with quickness, hard running and some missed tackles. Jones rushed for 192 yards on 26 carries and scored twice. Aberle also scored twice.

McClintock took its first lead 22-19 on Aberle's second TD run with 1:28 left in the third period. Less than a minute later Watkins hauled in his third TD reception to put Tempe back in front, 26-22.

The teams exchanged TDs early in the final period, with Gant flipping a 20-yard TD toss to Massiah Smith for the game-winner with 8:13 to play.

Tempe came up with the only big stop of the final period with 3:32 left when lineman Devonte Gray tackled Jones for a 3-yard loss. An incompletion followed and Tempe essentially ran out the clock for its hard-fought win.