Thursday night lights in Scottsdale belonged to the visiting team thanks to a stingy defense and a clutch performance from its quarterback.

Playing in front of a packed house and a host of Fiesta Bowl representatives on hand for its game of the week, rivals Pinnacle and Horizon put their 3-0 records on the line, but it didn’t take long for Pinnacle to assert its dominance as the Pioneers cruised to a convincing 27-7 victory.

Junior quarterback Wyatt Horton threw for 187 yards and a touchdown while adding another on the ground. Most of the aerial damage was done in the first half, when Horton was flawless when it mattered most, although he wasn’t about to take any individual credit.

“This was a great team win and an important win against a rival. Our defense came up huge,” Horton said.

It may be a rivalry by geographic proximity, but Pinnacle—last year’s 6A runner up—has beaten Horizon 16 times in 17 meetings. The lone Horizon victory was a 17-16 thriller in 2021, when the Huskies went on to capture the 5A title.
Entering Thursday night’s matchup, Horizon (3-0) had yielded only 17 points in three blowout wins.

Pinnacle led 17-0 midway through the second quarter, and a pair of 4th down completions by Horton were key.

After Pinnacle forced a turnover on Horizon’s first drive, the offense faced a fourth down from Horizon’s 31-yard line and decided to go for it. Horton then delivered a perfect throw to Josh Pinder who had gotten behind defenders in the end zone, and Pinnacle had a 10-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Pinnacle faced another fourth down just inside Horizon territory. Horton stepped up again, zipping a 25-yard laser between three defenders and into the arms of Mac Richards.
A few plays later, Horton demonstrated his knack for the big moment when, after a fumbled handoff exchange, he scooped the ball up and took it around the corner for a four yard touchdown run for the 17-0 lead.

Kicker Cooper King—who also plays defensive end—connected on field goals of 36 and 25 yards for Pinnacle, contributing to its 20-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Horizon finally found some offense as tailback Anthony Segura helped the Huskies sustain their only legitimate drive with an 11-yard run, cutting the lead to 20-7.

But Pinnacle’s defense shut down any chances of a late comeback, much to the delight of Horton and teammates, who will face a fierce stretch of competition in coming weeks.

“This feels good because we’re still playing like a team with hunger,” Horton added.
“We got to the 6A final last year but we came up short, and we’d really like to take it further this season.”

Pinnacle will travel to Queen Creek next week for a tough test against American Leadership Academy.

Horizon resumes its 5A path with a visit to Millennium.