Cienega coach Nemer Hassey hunched at the 42-yard line, hands on his knees, eyes directly on the football in front of him.
With just about a minute left, Ironwood Ridge quarterback Jake Matthews took a shotgun snap on fourth-and-three and handed it off to Mitch Fischer. The senior workhorse fell forward, fighting for a first down.
When the pile of bodies was sorted out and the officials measured, it showed Fischer had come up about an inch short.
Hassey leaped, arms above his head, and began to celebrate a 24-21 Division II state semifinal win Friday night that he had been waiting three seasons for.
After the fourth-down stop of Fischer and a couple of kneel-downs from quarterback Michael Archie, Hassey's Bobcats advanced to their first state championship game in program history, beating Ironwood Ridge at Tucson High.
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It was the third straight year the Bobcats (13-0) reached the semifinals, and the first time they got over the hump. They will face No. 1 Scottsdale Chaparral next Saturday for the title.
"I think about those two losses every single day," Hassey said. "For 365 days a year, even on Christmas. I've thought about last year's (28-24 loss to Canyon del Oro) every day this year. Not to dwell on it, but to just get better.
"With three minutes left, I just kept screaming, 'We have to finish this. We have to finish this.' We were in the same boat last year, and didn't get it done."
Fischer scored on a 1-yard run to give the Nighthawks (10-3) a 21-17 lead with 8:22 to play.
After a return to the 29-yard line, Archie and the Bobcats offense got the ball with 8:15 on the clock. The second seeded Bobcats moved to the Nighthawks' 44-yard line with 5:15 left.
Facing a fourth-and-seven, Hassey decided to go for it. Archie rolled right and fired a bullet to receiver Jalen Rogers for a 12-yard gain and a fresh set of downs.
Four plays later, Archie hooked up with Edgar Poe for a 33-yard catch just in front of the corner of the end zone and Poe then fell in for the touchdown to put the Bobcats up for good with 3:15 to play.
"Edgar had a step, and all that went through my head was, 'Please don't screw this up,'" Archie said. "I threw it and to be honest, because of the way the crowd sounded, I thought he dropped it. I saw the ref running over there, looking. Edgar started jumping around- touchdown."
Archie finished 10-of-13 passing for 172 yards and two touchdowns - both to Poe. Senior running back Manny Vera complemented Archie with 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
"They really did a nice job of mixing (the pass) up with the run," Ironwood Ridge coach Matt Johnson said. "It just seemed like we couldn't stop one or the other."
Johnson's crew rushed out to a 14-0 lead behind two touchdowns from Fischer, who finished with 222 yards on 34 carries.
On their ensuing drive after Fischer's second score, the Bobcats put together a 13-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard TD run from Vera.
Ironwood Ridge went three-and-out on its next possession, giving the ball right back to Cienega. The Bobcats responded with a 57-yard drive and tied the game at 14 on a 35-yard TD pass from Archie to Poe.
Jason Cox added a 25-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Bobcats a 17-14 lead-their third straight lead in a semifinal game.
"We had been there before twice and couldn't finish it off," senior captain Daniel Gonzales said. "Some of us stepped up at halftime and said, 'We can't get complacent. We have to finish this off,' and we did."
Cienega will face top-seeded Scottsdale Chaparral at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe next Saturday at 5:07 p.m. Chaparral held off No. 4 Peoria Centennial 31-30 on Friday night.
"We're going to state, and it's an amazing feeling," Hassey said. "No one's taking this from us."
