Trust Thor.

Thatcher coach Sean Hinton didn’t at first. But an assistant coach convinced Hinton to send Tormond Sandven, a foreign exchanged student from Denmark teammates affectionately call Thor, to kick the game winning extra point in overtime. Sandven missed his first and only extra point attempt in regulation, but he powered his second one through the uprights to send Thatcher to the 2A Conference championship game. Hinton wanted to go for two after Brandon Hayes’ 3-yard overtime touchdown run tied Saturday’s state semifinal game, 26-26, against Santa Cruz.

But Hinton eventually called for Sandven, who kicked off his team’s postgame, 27-26 victory celebration at Fountain Hills High. Thatcher’s defense has stepped up throughout the season and did so again Saturday to send the game to overtime.

Santa Cruz had two chances to score the game winning touchdown in the final seconds of regulation, but Thatcher’s goal-line defense stopped Devin Neal on both occasions.

“Defense has showed up big all year long, luckily because we had some miscues on offense,” Hinton said. “(The) defense stepped up and they did great, hitting and finding the football.”

Thatcher’s defense also executed a goal line stand against rival Safford to help win that game this season.      

Neal, one of the 2A’s MVP’s, scored every Santa Cruz (11-1) touchdown Saturday, including Santa Cruz’s overtime touchdown. But Thatcher’s defense stopped Neal’s 2-point attempt in overtime, setting up the game-ending heroics of Thatcher and Sandven.

Thatcher’s defense scored the game’s first points when safety/quarterback Jake Dunlap intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a first quarter touchdown. Thatcher (11-2) trailed 20-14 in the fourth quarter, but Nathan Lee tied the game with 6:19 left, when he took a direct path to the end zone to score a 70-yard touchdown run.

A 47-yard touchdown run by Neal put his team back ahead 14-8 in the second quarter, but Dunlap’s second quarter, 46-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Jon Trujillo left the teams tied, 14-14, heading into halftime.

Round Valley advances without starting QB

It wasn’t Groundhog Day Saturday. It just felt that way for Benson.

The same bad breaks kept occuring for Benson, which turned the ball over six times, allowing Round Valley to start and end the game in similar fashion.

Round Valley opened the scoring by blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown.

It capped its night by picking up a Benson turnover and returning it for a touchdown.

Benson’s long night ended with a 37-8 loss in the 2A Conference semifinals at Fountain Hills.

Fo Round Valley, what will happen again is a matchup against Thatcher but this time in Saturday’s 2A final at Chaparral High School. The two teams met during the regular season, with Round Valley winning 28-21.

Round Valley won despite not playing without its injured captain, Kyron Woolf, the team’s leading rusher and passer. But if Woolf is unable to play in the biggest game of the year in 2A, backup Brian Hill appears ready for duty.

He threw into traffic at times, but for the most part did a good job of directing the offense. Woolf’s injury hasn’t been disclosed.

Any worries Round Valley may have had with Woolf on the bench were erased when Colter Hogle blocked a punt and ran it in. Hill finished Round Valley’s second scoring drive with a 24-yard touchdown run.

Hill's touchdown was set up by Braden Brown's 55-yard run on the drive. Round Valley’s defense, which had five sacks, didn’t allow Benson to score until the 4:08 mark in the third quarter.