Three sighs of relief.

That's what Gilbert Mesquite breathed in the final five minutes of its 5A-I Central Region-opening 19-14 victory over Tempe Corona del Sol to spoil the Aztecs' homecoming Friday night at Hascall Henshaw Stadium.

Sigh of relief No. 1 came when Mesquite linebacker Rob Dalton gathered in a tipped pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown with 5:29 left in the game, seemingly giving the Wildcats all the points needed with a 19-7 lead over the listless Aztecs.

"As soon as that happened we thought we had it won," Mesquite coach Mike Reardon said of Dalton's TD return. "The way we played offensively, too many mistakes, we should have known better."

Reardon was right.

But 26 seconds after Dalton's score, Corona del Sol wideout Billy Johnson completed an 82-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Chase Cartwright. That represented almost 40 percent of the Aztecs' total offense for the night. Mesquite was stunned.

And when Johnson picked off backup quarterback Tommy Trammell with 3:22 to play, Mesquite (3-2, 1-0) needed an oxygen tank. The Aztecs (1-3, 0-1) were only 28 yards away from snatching victory from defeat.

Enter sigh of relief No. 2. Mesquite's defense, holding Corona to a fourth-and-2 at the 20, allowed Corona del Sol receiver Kyle Benson to cut across the field and into the clear in the right corner of the end zone as Cartwright rolled right and led his target perfectly. As Benson gathered the ball it somehow slipped through his hands and tumbled harmlessly away.

Two minutes left, and all Mesquite needed was one first down to run out the clock.

Welcome sigh of relief No. 3. On second-and-7, Trammell fumbled the center exchange. Fullback Maka Taufa alertly grabbed the ball before most knew it was loose and rumbled up the middle for 12 yards - and finally - victory.

Both of Mesquite's touchdowns came directly or indirectly from Corona del Sol turnovers.

The offense managed enough yardage to set up two Dane Wertz field goals in the first half, and Taufa's fumble recovery in the second period set up a touchdown run by Mesquite starting quarterback Steven Hansen.

The Aztecs committed four turnovers for the game. Corona couldn't get its running game untracked all night, rushing for just 30 yards. Top rusher Michael Lange, who scored on a short run in the first period to give the Aztecs their only lead at 7-3, finished with 24 yards on 13 carries.

"With the turnovers they had we should have capitalized more," Reardon said. "We have a lot of work to do offensively. We've got to play better in that aspect against the teams we have coming up."

LIVE IN-GAME UPDATES

Mesquite scores on a 25-yard FG to go up 3-0 over Corona del Sol with 3:56 left in the first quarter.

With just 34 seconds left in the first half, Steven Hansen scores on a 17-yard run for Mesquite. The Wildcats have a 13-7 lead over Corona del Sol at halftime.

Mesquite extends the lead to 19-7 on a 24-yard interception return by Rob Dalton with 5:23 left in the game.

Corona del Sol answers right back, scoring on an 82-yard pass from Chase Cartwright to Billy Johnson. It's Mesquite 19, Corona 14 with 5 minutes remaining.

PREVIEW

Mesquite (2-2) vs. Corona del Sol (1-2)

Time: 7 p.m.

Address: 1001 E. Knox Road, Tempe

Key matchup: Corona’s offense must probe for weaknesses in what has been a steady Mesquite defense, especially given Mesquite’s effort against a high-powered Chaparral offense that totaled only 17 points last week.

Key stat: Mesquite committed 11 turnovers combined against Corona in meetings in 2007 and 2008.

The intrigue: Can Mesquite stop its two-game slide against Corona, which has seen the Aztecs outscore the Wildcats 82-19 in the last two meetings?