Saguaro's Kevin Keenan finds a hole and runs the ball during the 4A-I state football semifinal game between Scottsdale Saguaro and Scottsdale Chaparral at Dobson High School.

Jennifer Grimes, Tribune

Scottsdale Saguaro quarterback Tim Ruben brought two dry towels with him for the final kneel-down, just in case.

SLIDESHOW: View High School Football Semifinals Slideshow

Constant rain throughout the day left a puddle of water on 80 yards of the Mesa Dobson High field Friday night and led to 11 fumbles between 4A-I semifinal combatants Scottsdale Chaparral and Saguaro.

The Firebirds took a six-point lead into halftime, but a blocked punt by Max Smith helped keep the Sabercats’ head above water as they went on to a gritty 12-6 win.

Saguaro moves to 13-0 on the season and gets a chance to repeat as state champion against Tucson Canyon del Oro next Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

“This was crazy,” Ruben said. “You couldn’t even hold onto the ball.”

Smith blocked a punt with the score tied at 6 late in the third quarter. Derek Bisgard recovered the ball in the end zone and it would be the deciding score.

“I didn’t even know where the ball went,” Smith said.

Smith said he used to play baseball with a lot of the Chaparral players, and they wanted him to become a Firebird entering high school, but “I wanted to come here and play with my boys,” he said.

Chaparral had two very good shots late to either tie or win the game.

The Firebirds (10-3) drove the ball inside the 20-yard line with under two minutes to go, but quarterback Spencer Stone fumbled on fourth down and Saguaro defensive linemen Joe Kellogg recovered.

Saguaro had a chance to ice the game, but Ruben fumbled on third down to give Chaparral another golden opportunity.

Stone was then sacked on first down, Deveron Carr ran for 6 yards on second down and Stone fumbled on third down to set up a fourth-and-7. Stone lofted a pass into the end zone, but there was no Chaparral receiver in the area, and the celebration on the Saguaro sideline began.

The water that caused so much trouble during the game turned into a slip-and-slide, as the Sabercats celebrated their second win over Chaparral of the season.

Chaparral tried to stick to its game plan early, throwing on three of its first six plays, but to no avail. Stone finished up 3-for-13 for 73 yards.

One of the passes went to Derek Oesterblad, who was subsequently stripped of the ball by Beau Burton deep in Saguaro territory.

Chaparral was trying to answer Saguaro’s first drive of the second half, which tied the game at 6 on a two-yard run by Ruben.

Only five combined passes were completed in the game out of 20 attempts.