FLAGSTAFF — Quarterback Cameron Dyer scored three touchdowns, none more important than his 5-yard run in double overtime to give Albuquerque’s own La Cueva a 39-32 win over Pinnacle in a rain-soaked, Saturday-night thriller.

A total of nine hours was spent on a bus between the two teams before their arrival at Cromer Field on the campus of Coconino High School, so when officials called for a lightning delay at halftime that lasted more than an hour, the two teams and their fans were not pleased.

But, it was worth the wait for everyone involved as these two 6A powerhouses from their respective states gave fans all they could want and more in a four-hour Week 2 masterpiece.

“When the moment came, we made the plays we needed to. I’m proud of our guys. Shout out to our defense, they kept us in it,” Dyer said.

Running back Gavin Hammond seemed to put the game away after a 58-yard touchdown run down the right sideline gave the Pioneers a 25-10 lead with 2:07 to play, but La Cueva (2-0, 0-0 6A District 2) would not go down quietly.

On their next possession, Dyer found a seem and sprinted 76 yards for a touchdown to cut Pinnacle’s lead, 25-17, with 54 seconds left, then La Cueva’s special teams made a play, miraculously recovering the onside kick.

“My offensive line created a good pocket for me to move out of, nothing was there, so I evaded and made the play I needed to,” Dyer said. “It’s really glory to the man above, He was with me the whole time.”

After Dyer found Jayden Parsons down the right sideline for a big catch, Mason Posa punched it across the goal line on a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 25-23. Tanner Montano caught the two-point conversion to tie the game, 25-25, and just like that, Pinnacle saw their two-touchdown lead vanish.

Pinnacle quarterback Wyatt Horton (15) looks downfield to pass. He had two rushing touchdowns in a 39-32 loss to La Cueva (NM) on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at Coconino High School in Flagstaff. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365.com)

In the first overtime, Alex Lugo scored a touchdown to give Pinnacle (0-1, 0-0 6A North East Valley) a 32-25 lead, but Montano would even the score with a touchdown of his own.

After Dyer found a hole up the middle for a quick touchdown in the second overtime to give the Bears a 39-32 lead, their defense held up against the Pinnacle threat for the win.

“There’s not better feeling, this is the position we like to be in. We love being in these wars,” Dyer said.

La Cueva coach Brandon Back said the most impressive thing he saw all night was that his club never “gave up.”

“We came out and did not play well, played a little tight. And we were unsure of our footing. We knew it was going to be a dog fight and the wheels could have come off, very easily. But everyone settled in and did their job,” Back said. “To be able to get the onside kick, we had some breaks go our way, and that’s what you need in these big games.”

Pinnacle coach Dana Zupke was proud of his team for starting out well, and being aggressive. But they’ll need to learn quickly from their “mistakes” on Saturday night.

“This is something we need to learn from, and how to put a team away. The litany of mistakes on our end, that’s what we talked about. We were fortunate in some ways to be in this game considering the amount of penalties we had, mistakes we had on both sides of the ball,” Zupke said. “I’m happy our kids competed and found a way to be in this game, but we have a lot of work to do when it comes to finishing it out against good teams.”

UP NEXT

La Cueva travels to Sandia on Friday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Pinnacle visits Tolleson in Week 3 action at 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.