A little talk from the coach and the senior class was just what the Scottsdale Saguaro Sabercats needed to keep their chance of a fourth straight state title alive.

The Sabercats trailed 10-0 at halftime against upset-minded Glendale Independence in Friday’s 4A-I state quarterfinal football game at Saguaro.

After getting only four first-half first downs, the three-time defending state champion had four third-quarter touchdowns on the way to a 38-23 victory and berth into the semifinals.

To open the second half, sophomore Lucas Petrullo returned the kickoff 95 yards for a score. Junior quarterback Tim Ruben ran for a 58-yard score and, after a Patriots fumble, sophomore D.J. Foster scored on a 5-yard run.

Less than five minutes into the second half, Saguaro had turned its 10-point deficit into a 21-17 lead.

“The coaches gave really good speeches at halftime, and so did the players,” said Petrullo, one of seven sophomores in the starting lineup. “All the seniors talked, and we came out fired up for the second half.”

“Everyone on the kick return made their blocks, and I just made something happen.”

Independence quickly answered Petrullo’s return, but Ruben, Foster and finally a Ruben-to-Kyle Young 41-yard touchdown strike were too much for the 11th-seeded Patriots to come back from.

“We had to decide we wanted to play football,” said Saguaro coach John Sanders. “Independence wanted to win this game in the first half more than we did.

“At the half, when we went in, I was … I wasn’t very happy, to put it that way. I was hot. We challenged the young kids, like Petrullo who is a sophomore, to not allow the last game on this field to be a loss for our seniors.”

Saguaro added a fourth-quarter 27-yard field goal from Peter Douds and a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Danny Clark.

Independence scored on the final play of the game, a 25-yard pass from Tyler Peoples to Tyler Vache.

Peoples and Vache connected on two touchdowns. Peoples finished the game 13-of-20 for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Patriots running back Chris Baker had 16 carries for 53 yards but had a first-quarter 65-yard touchdown run called back for holding.

Ruben, after rushing just three times for 16 yards in the first half, finished with 18 carries for 143 yards.

“We just started playing Sabercat football in the second half,” said Ruben.

LIVE IN-GAME UPDATES

Tyler Peoples' 25-yard pass to Tyler Vache puts Independence up 10-0 over Saguaro with 1:42 left in the second quarter.

Lucas Petrullo gets Saguaro on the board by returning the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown, cutting Independence's lead to 10-7.

Independence answers quickly on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Peoples to Tyler Michael Huerta and now leads 17-7 early in the third quarter.

Saguaro responds with a 58-yard TD run by Teddy Ruben, making it Independence 17, Saguaro 14 midway through the third quarter.

Saguaro comes back in a hurry, scoring two quick touchdowns to take the lead. The second is a 41-yard pass from Ruben to Kyle Young, putting the Sabercats up 28-17 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

PREVIEW

No. 11 Independence at No. 3 Saguaro

Time: 7 p.m.

Address: 6250 N 82nd St., Scottsdale

Key matchup: Independence quarterback Tyler Peoples put up 152 yards and three touchdowns against Apache Junction in a 36-35 comeback win. Every time the Patriots needed a big play, they would go to the air. Saguaro’s defense has done a decent job all season against the pass.

Stat leaders: Saguaro – Rushing: Teddy Ruben 133 rushes, 1,118 yds., 16 TDs; Danny Clark 68-579, 7 TDs; DJ Foster 50-502, 9 TDs; Bobby McGinty 84-466, 4 TDs. Passing: Ruben 73 of 129, 1,312 yds., 6 TDs, 4 INT. Receiving: Foster 23 rec., 457 yds, 1 TD; Brock Haman 20-368, 3 TDs; Lucas Petrullo 15-248, 1 TD.; Independence: NA

Key stat: When Saguaro quarterback Teddy Ruben rushes for more than 100 yards, the Sabercats are 5-0.

Outlook: Independence has been on a magical run the last six weeks after starting out the season 1-4. The Patriots showed they are for real with their first-round win over Apache Junction, but the Sabercats are a different animal. Saguaro has a more diverse offense than the one Independence faced against Apache Junction and is a team that is used to these long playoff runs.