Mesa Erases 21-Point Deficit to Defeat Salpointe Catholic 26-21

Mesa completed a 21-point comeback Friday night, scoring 26 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Salpointe Catholic 26-21 in a 6A Southern boys varsity football matchup at Mesa High School.

Salpointe Catholic controlled the first half and opened the scoring in the first quarter when No. 23 found the end zone on a rushing touchdown. The extra point gave the Lancers a 7-0 advantage.

Salpointe added to its lead in the second quarter. No. 12 scored on the ground to extend the advantage to 14-0 before No. 42 added another rushing touchdown, sending Salpointe Catholic into halftime with a 21-0 lead.

Mesa immediately began its comeback to open the third quarter. No. 1 returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, putting the Jackrabbits on the board and cutting the deficit to 21-7.

The comeback accelerated in the fourth quarter.

No. 11 scored a rushing touchdown for Mesa, bringing the Jackrabbits within eight at 21-13. No. 27 followed with another rushing touchdown, cutting Salpointe Catholic's lead to 21-19.

Mesa then completed the comeback through the air. A touchdown pass to No. 10 put the Jackrabbits ahead 26-21, completing a 26-point second-half rally after trailing by 21 at halftime.

Mesa's defense kept Salpointe Catholic scoreless throughout the second half, allowing the Jackrabbits to secure the 26-21 victory and snap a two-game losing streak.

"We needed that," Mesa head coach Ryan Felker said after the game. "The kids really showed a lot of resiliency and battled through adversity that we brought on ourselves, and, you know, they finished strong, and they were able to figure it out."

Felker pointed to Mesa's protection up front as one of the biggest differences between the two halves.

"Our problems were up front in the first half, in our protection," Felker said. "We've been struggling a little bit up front, and they really figured it out and shored up that protection, and we were able to do what we needed to do to run the ball and move the ball."

After entering halftime down 21-0, Mesa answered with touchdowns on special teams, the ground and through the air while keeping Salpointe Catholic off the scoreboard for the entire second half to complete the 26-21 comeback.