Championship games are the ultimate representation of the duality of sport. Two teams that combine indisputable resumes and countless hours of preparation meet on a sports final stage, and the end result is a squad overcome with joy and a sense of validation for their superb year’s worth of work, while the other can only watch as the other soaks it in, while perhaps being equally deserving of the title.
Camp Verde High School boys soccer was a machine in 2021. After a late-season slap in the face at Sedona Red Rock in a 2-1 overtime loss, the Cowboys engineered a five match winning streak to advance to the State Championship game, while scoring 29 goals and conceding just 3 over that span.
In the end, the mountain simply couldn’t be climbed just yet. Camp Verde fell 2-1 to the Chino Valley Cougars in Saturday’s Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Boys Soccer State Championship Game at Williams Field High School in what was an instant-classic of a match between two soccer powerhouses.
“I think this was the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state,” said Camp Verde head coach Dave Miller. “Chino Valley and Camp Verde represented the best of Fall Soccer.”
After that game, it’s hard to argue with Miller’s assessment.
An intriguing first half set up a drama-filled second. The Cowboys delivered the first blow in front of the packed bleachers at Williams Field High School in Gilbert. In only the ninth minute of the match, senior midfielder Tyler Clubb delivered a perfect through ball pass to senior striker Jesus Reyes, who put it away in the back of the net on a 1-on-1 with the Cougars’ goalkeeper.
The Cowboys’ bench exploded with joy as they took an early 1-0 lead, and proved they belonged on the state’s ultimate stage.
But the feeling didn’t last long. Just three minutes later, the Cougars earned a corner kick and punished the Cowboys for it with a goal after a Cougar managed to slot the ball past Camp Verde senior GK Gary Ortega amongst the chaos near the net.
“We knew it was going to be close,” Miller said. “These guys always play us tough and we don’t always have our A-game when we play them. I think we dominated the second half and came an inch away from taking the lead, and then we gave up the lead by an inch.”
The 1-1 score held for the next 61 minutes. In that hour, the teams played one of the more intense stalemates the sport of soccer could offer. Chino Valley played its patented possession game, providing calculated runs with its speed up top on physical midfield play. While the Cougars struggled to finish in the final third, in no small part to Ortega’s outstanding play in net, the opportunities were plentiful for Chino.
Camp Verde, on the other hand, proved why it had one of the more feared counter attacks in Arizona fall soccer. The Cowboys feasted on the Cougars’ mistakes and nearly made them pay each time. The speed in their midfield with Clubb and senior Kiki Nogez sought out punishment for each ball misplay from Chino.
Each team had several near scores in that second half. The most notable of which came off the foot of Camp Verde junior midfielder Michael Beltran, whose lob shot was just barely grabbed by Chino senior GK Trever Stazenski.
The evenly matched nature of this game deserved a climactic ending, and it got one.
With the score still tied 1-1 with just five minutes remaining in regulation, Chino Valley had a major scoring chance near the Camp Verde goal. The Cougars attempted a shot which in return yielded a spectacular diving save from Ortega. But in a wicked turn of luck for the Cowboys, the ball deflected off Ortega right to the foot of a Cougar attacker, who in turn netted the easy layup goal for what would turn out to be the championship-winning score.
The Cowboys desperate plea for an equalizer in the final five minutes didn’t yield any returns, and they fell just short of the Arizona state championship.
“I’m super proud,” Miller said. “We had six seniors that started and set the tone for the team. We had another senior come off the bench. We’re really young and we’ll grow. They have built every year a little better and this was a really good year for us. We started off with a couple of heartbreaks and retooled the team after the Sedona loss and went on to win a bunch of huge games and set the stage for tonight.”
The Cowboys fell just short of the title but their season speaks for itself. They finish with an 11-2-1 record, with dominant 4-1 and 3-1 wins over Show Low and Snowflake respectively to earn a spot in the championship.
As for Chino Valley, the Cougars finally clutch the state championship trophy after finishing as runner up in three-consecutive seasons.
