Red Mountain football defeats Mountain View in Mesa's Battle of Brown Road

Mesa Red Mountain built a 17-0 first-quarter lead before Mesa Mountain View quarterback Grady Goodman rallied the Toros to take a 22-17 lead and big-time momentum into halftime.

But, in the end, Red Mountain took back the Battle of Brown Road Trophy with clutch defensive stops and a ground-control offense that consumed too much time for Goodman to turn any last-minute magic.

Red Mountain's 23-22 victory on Friday, Oct. 17 showed how resilient and determined this Lions team has become as they look to avoid another collapse in the second half of the season.

Mountain View (4-3) was held scoreless in the second half, after scoring 15 points in a two-minute span late in the first half to take the lead.

Kai Jackson, a cornerback-turned-tailback two games ago, gave Red Mountain (6-1) a 23-22 lead on his 3-yard run with 11:15 left, capping a five-minute drive. He also had a 60-yard scoring run in the first quarter when the Lions were building their 17-0 lead and seemingly running away from the Toros.

"He moved from cornerback to running back and he's played really well the last two weeks," coach Kyle Enders said.

Goodman moved the Toros to the Red Mountain 12, before his pass was intercepted at the 2 by Jackson White. Red Mountain again used about eight minutes off the clock, and, on a punt, had Mountain View pinned at its 10 with less than a minute to play.

"We have really good senior leadership and it's a tight-knit group," Enders said. "When our backs were against the wall, and we didn't have any momentum going into halftime, we talked to them.

"We leaned on them. They kind of took over at haltime and talked to them and it showed in the second half, the way we played."

Last year, Red Mountain started the season 7-0, but lost its last four with the season ending in the first round of the 6A playoffs to Peoria Centennial.

This team appears built for the long haul. It got better midway through the season when quarterback Dominic Carmigiano became eligible. The former Chandler player had to sit the first five games due to the AIA transfer rule.

Carmigiano's big arm makes the Lions' offense more dynamic and less reliant on the run.

"It gives us a vertical threat and it opens things up for our run game," Enders said.

Carmigiano's 47-yard scoring pass to Airreon Windom extended the lead to 17-0 with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

"I think he opens it up more for us," Windom said of Carmigiano. "He can get the ball to us when we need it the most."

During Mountain View's comeback, Goodman scored on a short run, hit Zachary Galaviz with a 9-yard scoring pass, before running in the 2-point conversion to cut it to 17-15. Moments later, Goodman found Talan Arnett from 5-yards out for a 22-17 lead.

"We just did what the coaches needed us to do," Windom said. "We just put our heads down and made plays. We just had to make plays and we'll succeed every time."

With no timeouts left, and Red Mountain a prevent defense, Goodman completed a pass at midfield that was pitched back to a teammate, then fumbled and recovered by Red Mountain as time ran out.

"I couldn't be more proud of this coaching staff and these kids," Enders said. "They deserved this one."

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Red Mountain defense holds off Mountain View in Mesa clash