Mesa Red Mountain watched a close lead disappear in an instant when a 60-yard touchdown pass from Laveen Cesar Chavez's Brandon Cluff to Devonte Neal with time expiring in the third quarter swung the momentum to the visiting Champions and gave them a 39-27 win Friday at Red Mountain.

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Cesar Chavez (3-2) had an outstanding night from Cluff, who was 15-of-23 passing for three touchdowns and 241 yards. He also rushed for two more touchdowns.

Cluff’s performance, and three turnovers – two fumbles and an interception – by Red Mountain (2-3), negated a solid night from the Mountain Lions’ Derek Molina, who had 23 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown.

"We didn't have a whole lot of heart tonight," said Red Mountain coach Jim Jones. "I don't understand how you can show up for a football game and not be ready to play. That's my fault.

"We're not at the point where we can take the field and be successful if we're not mentally prepared, and that falls on the coach."

The Lions appeared ready in the first quarter, as they took advantage of a short field and drove 58 yards in three minutes to take an early 7-0 lead.

However, the Champions then scored on each of their next three possessions to jump ahead 20-7.

A second rushing touchdown by the Lions’ Brett Cerqua in the second quarter was quickly overshadowed by a 59-yard pass from Cesar Chavez's Cluff to Trae Gossett. However, the Lions were able to reestablish momentum on a 40-yard fumble recovery and touchdown from Kris Moksvold a short time later.

A touchdown run from Molina gave Red Mountain a 27-26 lead late in the third quarter that disappeared three minutes later on Cluff's 60-yard touchdown pass.

"They burned us a couple of times and got the momentum right back," Jones said. "We're going to have to do some soul searching. We've got one more game (Scottsdale Desert Mountain) before we get into region play, so we got to get ready to get back to work (Saturday) morning."