50 games, 50 years of school

To celebrate the state's 50th anniversary of football playoffs, azcentral.com is republishing all of The Arizona Republic's original state championship stories at highschools.azcentral.com.

It's a look at yesteryear's great moments and heroes. Some of the old stories are not much longer than a brief from a roundup, and the change in writing style over five decades can be equally interesting. But they're all there.

You can also vote for the most exciting championship game ever and take a look at our slideshow.

To whet your appetite, here's our 50 Games for 50 Years: A look at the some of the most thrilling championships.

You can cast your vote for the most exciting in each conference.

Take a look, and we think you'll agree with us: They're a lot more exciting than your typical .

1959-69

1959 5A: Richard Bryant's interception at Phoenix South Mountain's 1-yard line with 37 seconds remaining preserved a 7-7 tie with Yuma in the first official big school state championship game.

1961 5A: Gus Moreno, whose missed an extra point earlier, kicked an 11-yard field goal with 1:30 to play, capping a 10-point Tucson Pueblo rally and giving it a 16-14 win over Phoenix St. Mary's.

1962 1A: A 20-yard pass from Joe Ready to Bruce Hodges late in the third quarter made Camp Verde the first champion from Yavapai County as it beat Patagonia 32-31.

1964 2A: Marana held Willcox on downs on its own 3-yard line in the fourth quarter before scoring the game-winning on halfback Frank Ard's 48-yard run in the game's closing minutes for a 14-7 win.

1964 3A: Bill Bolling recovered a Flowing Wells fourth-quarter fumble in the end zone for a touchback, then Winslow marched 80 yards, producing the game's only points on a quarterback Tine Lopez's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:20 to play in a 7-0 win.

1966 3A: A fumble set up a short game-winning drive, capped off when quarterback J.T. Burchett sneaked in from 1 yard out with seven minutes, as Eloy Santa Cruz beat Avondale Agua Fria 16-13.

1966 5A: Keith Ritchie's diving 34-yard touchdown catch from Art Monje with 41 seconds remaining gave Tucson High a 14-7 win over Mesa Westwood.

1968 3A: Jimmy Calvin blocked a punt, chased it 30 yards into the end zone and fell on it for the winning touchdown with 2:55 remaining in the game as Coolidge beat Peoria 27-20. Peoria drove to the Coolidge 4 in response, but was pushed back by penalties and ran out of time.

1968 4A: Rick Brensleck, a 5-8, 190-pound defensive tackle, produced the game's only score on an 84-yard fumble return with 43 seconds to play as Flagstaff Coconino beat Tucson Flowing Wells 6-0.

The 1970s

1970 3A: Ray Darden plunged 3 yards for the game-winning TD with only nine seconds showing on the clock, as Parker rallied from a 13-0 deficit in the game's final 1:52 to beat Snowflake 16-13.

1971 2A: Gilbert's Ray Pace returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown with 4:55 left in the ball game, but Gilbert failed to convert two chances at the two-point conversion to win as Round Valley held on for a 13-12 win.

1971 5A: A crazy finish. Tucson quarterback Frank Castro's two touchdown passes in the final 4:07 sandwiched Fred Mortensen's 50-yard touchdown pass to Rick Molina for Tempe as Tucson beat Tempe 20-14.

1972 3A: Santa Cruz's C.T. Strange returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown with 1:41 to play, but Miami answered with Dan Rodriguez's 57-yard touchdown pass to George Padilla and Gilbert Beltran's two-point conversion run with 59 seconds left as Miami topped Santa Cruz 22-21.

1973 5A: Tucson Palo Verde's 80-yard scoring drive in the game's final six minutes put coach Van Howe out as a winner in a 22-20 victory vs. Phoenix Camelback.

1974 5A: Roger Overton's 2-yard run and two-point conversion run gave Phoenix Camelback a lead, which the defense preserved with a two-point conversion stop and a late fumble recovery as Camelback beat Phoenix St. Mary's 22-20.

1975 5A: Randy Barkley scored on a 2-yard run with 17 seconds left and Herman Gutierrez kicked the decisive extra point as Tucson Amphitheater beat Phoenix Maryvale 23-22.

1977 4A: Tucson Canyon del Oro quarterback Jeff Carreon scored a touchdown with less than three minutes remaining, then booted a 46-yard field goal with 32 seconds to play to give CDO a 9-7 victory over Gilbert.

1977 5A: Todd Greer's 2-yard scoring run capped a 13-play, 72-yard drive early in the fourth quarter as Tempe McClintock rallied to beat Phoenix Washington 14-9 in a game that featured two future quarterback stars, McClintock's Rick Neuheisel and Washington's Mike Pagel.

1978 3A: Mike Cade rushed 20 times for 299 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner with 1:53 to play, returned a kickoff 70 yards for another score and caught a two-point conversion pass as Eloy Santa Cruz beat Willcox 40-36.

1979 1A: Quarterback Spencer Brown scored on a 2-yard with 31 seconds to play as St. David beat Salome 28-22.

1980s

1981 1A: With star running back Eddie Mavis sidelined after taking an elbow to the throat moments before his replacement, Marco Valenzuela, scored the winning touchdown from 3 yards out with 17 seconds left, lifting Maricopa past Suffolk Hills 20-14.

1982 2A: Decided underdog Willcox stopped Blue Ridge inside the 1-yard line in the game's final minute, then, after a safety, withstood a 51-yard field goal attempt as time expired to win 13-11.

1982 4A: Vinny Zanzucchi's 13-yard scoring pass to Daniel Casados with 41 seconds to play lifted Flagstaff past Tucson Flowing Wells 10-7.

1985 5A: Reggie McGill's 47-yard touchdown run with 4:40 to play lifted Phoenix St. Mary's to an 11-7 win against upset-minded Glendale Apollo.

1986 2A: Brad Hyatt's 13-yard blocked punt return before halftime proved to the game's biggest play as Thatcher beat Willcox 13-10.

1986 4A: William Babb's 1-yard sneak with 49 seconds remaining completed a nine-play, 68-yard drive as unranked Peoria rallied to beat Avondale Agua Fria 29-23.

1988 4A: Keith Huckaby's 1-yard run with 6:18 to play proved to be the winning score, and Toby Cluff's interception ended Peoria's final possession as Avondale Agua Fria beat Peoria 13-7.

The 1990s

1990 4A: Tucson Sabino drove 79 yards on six plays, culminated by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brown to best friend Kip Canatsey with 3:57 left as Sabino beat Peoria 31-28.

1991 1A: Two 10-0 teams meet, no one wins. Second-ranked Fredonia missed a two-point conversion attempt with 3:22 left and top-ranked Patagonia held on for a 36-36 tie.

1992 5A: Though otherwise marred by a postgame fight, Mesa held off a late rally and beat Mesa Mountain View 14-8 to win one for ailing coach Jim Rattay.

1994 1A: Mayer and Heber Mogollon's defenses came up with stops in the final minutes, played in a driving rain, and the teams ended up in a 20-20 tie.

1994 4A: Quarterback Aaron Dumsch led Tucson Sahuaro on a 12-play, 77-yard drive, scoring on a 6-yard draw with 1:27 to play, then running around left for the two-point conversion, as Sahuaro tied Peoria 17-17 in Howard Breinig's final game as Sahuaro coach.

1994 5A: Jeff Voigt managed to shovel a 7-yard scoring pass to Brooks Tyree through a swarm of defenders on fourth down with 24 seconds to play, capping an 18-play, 80-yard drive that gave Phoenix Horizon a 16-14 win against Phoenix St. Mary's.

1995 1A: Billy Johnson rushed 34 times for 180 yards, and Jake Bundy added 127 yards on 13 carries, as Fredonia held off a big Mogollon rally for a 38-32 win.

1996 3A: Stephen Waldo's 16-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play lifted Lakeside Blue Ridge to a 22-20 win over Queen Creek Arizona Boys Ranch.

1996 4A: Todd Mortensen's 7-yard scoring pass to Justin Taplin lifted Tempe to a 20-17 overtime victory against Glendale Ironwood, Tempe's only outright state championship.

1997 5A: Mesa Mountain View's defense stopped Antrel Bates on a fourth-and-one play at the Amphitheater 40, then the offense capitalized with a scoring drive that ended on Brad Malone's 18-yard scoring run with 2:39 to play as Mountain View beat Tucson Amphitheater 28-24.

1999 3A: Show Low nose guard J.R. Pearce stopped backup quarterback Alex Moro's run on a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:59 to play, sealing a 26-25 win for Show Low against Lakeside Blue Ridge.

2000-Present

2000 2A: Michael Romney broke a tackle to score from 1 yard out with 3:19 to play, then outran two defenders and beat everyone to the corner for a go-ahead 2-point conversion, and finally intercepted a pass with 38 seconds to play to seal a 14-13 Thatcher victory over St. Johns.

2001 5A: Down 10-0 late in the third quarter, Mesa Red Mountain rallied on Mike Chacon's 57-yard punt return and Steve Smith's 4-yard run with 1:41 to play, clinching a 13-10 win against Chandler Hamilton on Billy Fulcher's interception.

2002 4A: Controversy reigned as Steve Hoffman's apparent 18-yard fourth-down catch to the 1-yard line with 1:54 to play was ruled juggled out of bounds, and Scottsdale Chaparral held on to beat Phoenix Greenway 21-14.

2003 5A: Tramell McGill's 5-yard run gave Chandler Hamilton a lead in the third overtime, then Hamilton's defense stopped Marc LeBaron on fourth down from the 1-yard line to end the game as Hamilton beat Mesa Mountain View 35-28.

2004 3A: Bryce Talbot kicked a 29-yard fourth-quarter field goal to cap Lakeside Blue Ridge's rally from a 24-6 halftime deficit and give it a 25-24 win against Coolidge.

2004 4A: Down 34-6 at the half, Phoenix Moon Valley scored 39 unanswered points and stunned Glendale Cactus 45-34 in the biggest turnaround in big-school state championship history.

2005 1A: After blowing a 20-6 lead and falling behind 28-26, Pima bounced back to beat Mayer 40-34.

2005 5A-I: The Drive. Heavy underdog Phoenix Brophy drove 99 yards on 17 plays against Chandler Hamilton's highly touted defense, scoring on an 8-yard pass from sophomore Bryan Berens to Matt Smith with 34 seconds to play, as Brophy upset Hamilton 15-14.

2006 3A: Coolidge converted a fourth-and-19 on Andrew Ashford's 29-yard reception from Jesse Wheeler, then T.J. White scored the game-winning 4-yard touchdown the next play as Coolidge beat Wickenburg 28-21.

2007 2A: Shad Bride scored the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime as St. Johns beat Phoenix Arizona Lutheran 21-20.

2007 4A-I: Steven Chiappetti capped a 67-yard drive by kicking a 30-yard field goal with two seconds left as Scottsdale Saguaro beat Tucson Canyon del Oro 23-21.

2008 3A: Josh Frewin's extra point in the second overtime proved to be the difference as Payson rallied from a 20-0 deficit to beat Lakeside Blue Ridge 34-33.