The St. Mary’s Knights trailed before their offense took the field on Friday night. They faced a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. They watched the visitors from Lee Williams HS in Kingman line up for a potential game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining. But there was no way St. Mary’s quarterback Luke Horn was going to let any of that spoil his birthday.
The resilient Knights blocked that field goal attempt and then the defense made a stop in overtime to put the ball back in Horn’s hands. The junior dual-threat QB, who had tied the game with his arm in the fourth quarter, won it with his legs as he took off on a run on third-and-goal from the 6 to give St. Mary’s a 40-34 victory in the second round of the 4A playoffs at Saguaro HS in Scottsdale.
Horn passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more accounting for 353 yards of offense for St. Mary’s (9-2), who will travel down to Tucson to face two-time defending champion Mica Mountain next Friday.
St. Mary’s Head Coach Jose Lucero, who is in his seventh season and is an alum of the school, has the Knights in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
“It’s huge,” Lucero said. “Our kids showed a lot of resiliency. For our kids to bounce back and make some plays in big moments when it’s all on the line like this is pretty awesome.”
Lee Williams (9-3) was led by star running back Lucas Leist, who rushed for 302 yards and three touchdowns, most of that in the first three quarters. Late in the third, Leist’s ankle was rolled up on by a defender and he was helped off the field. He tried to return for a few plays, but physically wasn’t able to continue.
5 players that stood out
St. Mary’s WR Ezekiel Chavez
The 5-8, 155-pound receiver played big once again for the Knights. In his second year as a starter, Chavez led St. Mary’s in receiving yards and touchdowns and did again in this one. Chavez got the Knights on the board in the first quarter with a TD catch (20 yards). He then got hit 11th touchdown grab of the season midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game at 34 (22 yards). A track athlete, Chavez has run sprints (100 and 200 meters) the past two springs for St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s S Billy Lewis
The 6-2, 165-pound senior has been making his mark on defense this season with nine interceptions for the Knights. On Friday, it was a special teams moment. Lewis had a clean run and used his speed to get around the line, perfectly time a leap, and block a 27-yard field goal as time expired to force the overtime. With Lee Williams running the ball 44 times compared to just 18 pass plays, the safety, who is also a team captain, was limited in his coverage snaps. A multi-sport athlete, Lewis also plays on the Knights’ baseball team (outfielder/pitcher).
St. Mary’s QB Luke Horn
For the second year in a row, Horn led the Knights to a playoff win. He finished the night with 201 rushing yards on 20 carries. Horn also threw for 152 yards on 9-of-14 passing with three touchdowns. After halftime, St. Mary’s wasn’t stopped. The Knights scored touchdowns on all three of their second half possessions (plus of course, the overtime one). In addition to the two TD passes to Chavez, Horn had one to Anthony Cannon in the third quarter.
Lee Williams RB Lucas Leist
Coming into this one, the superlatives were many for the Volunteers’ running back. At least 140 yards in every game. A touchdown scored in eight straight contests. A total of 200 or more yards in four of his last five games. Eight games this season with three or more touchdowns. You can boost the totals for each of those by one more because Leist exceeded all of them! He was the reason I came out to cover the 4A second round game and he did not disappoint. 28 carries for 302 yards. And that was playing just three quarters (and three plays) of football. How do you improve on a 1,400-yard season with 22 touchdowns, as Leist had in 2025? By hitting the weight room. The 5-11, 195-pounder got bigger and stronger in the offseason boosting his bench PR to 305, power cleaning 275, and squatting 405 pounds. And the results showed up on Friday nights. From the spin moves to the power of not going down when tacklers make contact to the speed when he gets loose in the open field. The tone was set from the first drive as Leist had 56 yards on a drive he punctuated with a short run. The next series lasted just one play as he took off for a 78-yard scoring run. A 51-yard run set up Leist’s third TD in the third quarter. Lee Williams fans will always wonder what if, but I gotta say it. If Leist doesn’t go down, the Volunteers advance in this game. When he’s not racking up yards and tallying touchdowns, Leist carries a 3.80 GPA in the classroom. For those media people with a vote for postseason awards, check out his film. In a year when only two players from the 6A Conference went over 1,000 yards during the regular season and neither made the playoffs, Leist is this writer’s choice for Running Back of the Year. He gave his all and the faithful that traveled Southeast from Kingman appreciated it.
Lee Williams WR/LB Forrest Lane
The senior was the Volunteers’ leader in receiving with seven catches for 49 yards. He had a knack for making the tough catches, particularly on third down to prolong drives. While St. Mary’s did everything they could to stack the box, Lee Williams wasn’t completely one-dimensional. Quarterback Wyatt Evans was 14-of-18 for 123 yards. Lane does double duty playing outside linebacker as well. He holds a 3.70 GPA and possesses offers from a half dozen Division III and NAIA schools.
5 (non-scoring) plays that made a difference
- Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Anthony Cannon returned a kickoff to the Lee Williams 30-yard line. That gave the St. Mary’s offense a short field and three plays later, the Knights tied it up.
- Leading 24-21 in the third quarter, Lucas Leist had a 51-yard run that almost went further, but he was tripped up by the last defender. The Volunteers scored a touchdown on the drive to increase the lead to 10.
- Leading 31-27 late in the third quarter, Leist had a 20-yard run that ended just past midfield on the St. Mary’s sideline. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury and was carried most of the way off the field before walking over to the bench. He tried his best to return, but simply wasn’t the same and took himself out of the next drive.
- With the score tied at 34-34 and two seconds left on the clock, Lee Williams attempted a game-winning 27-yard field goal. But it was blocked by Billy Lewis and the game went to overtime.
- On Lee Williams’ possession in overtime, the Volunteers opted to go for it on fourth-and-six instead of kicking a field goal. This might have become a talking point if St. Mary’s went on to win with a field goal. Wyatt Evans completed a pass to Landen Douwenga, but he was tackled a yard short of the end zone.
5 key stats
- There were 0 turnovers in the game.
- Lee Williams had 14 first downs in the first half.
- At halftime, Lee Williams had run 36 plays compared to just 14 for St. Mary’s.
- Lee Williams had the ball for the last 5:30 of the game, but did not score.
- Lee Williams had the lead for 35:37 of the game. It was tied for 12:23. St. Mary’s led for 0:00.
Video Highlights
Courtesy of Sports360AZ anchor and reporter Eliav Gabay, we have the clips of the two biggest plays.
First the blocked field goal attempt by Billy Lewis as time expired.
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT IS BLOCKED.
OT PLAYOFF FOOTBALL!!
@Sports360AZ https://t.co/lc8QDkCDeT
— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) November 14, 2026
Next, we have the game-winning touchdown run from Luke Horn.
LUKE HORN CALLS HIS OWN NUMBER & ST MARY’s WINS IN OVERTIME @SMHSAZFootball ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS!
@Sports360AZ https://t.co/l40M1YDVaR
— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) November 14, 2026
Finally, Eliav caught up with Luke Horn after the game. Here’s his interview with the junior quarterback.
Knights 40, Volunteers 34 (OT)
LWHS. . . . 14 10 7 3 0 – 34
SMHS. . . . 7 7 13 7 6 – 40
First Quarter
LW: Lucas Leist 1 yard run (Liam Casson kick), 5:32, 0-7
SM: Ezekiel Chavez 20 yard pass from Luke Horn (Hector Lepur III kick), 3:58, 7-7
LW: Leist 78 yard run (Casson kick), 3:37, 7-14
Second Quarter
LW: Casson 20 yard FG, 8:21, 7-17
SM: Horn 60 yard run (Lepur kick), 6:08, 14-17
LW: Blaise Robinson 23 yard pass from Wyatt Evans (Casson kick), 1:14, 14-24
Third Quarter
SM: Anthony Cannon 24 yard pass from Horn (Lepur kick), 8:41, 21-24
LW: Leist 7 yard run (Casson kick), 7:12, 21-31
SM: Branson Brown 3 yard run (kick failed), 1:09, 27-31
Fourth Quarter
LW: Casson 39 yard FG, 9:20, 27-34
SM: Chavez 22 yard pass from Horn (Lepur kick), 5:34, 34-34
Overtime
SM: Horn 6 yard run, 40-34
Team Statistics
First Downs – LW: 18, SM: 14. Rushes-Yards – LW: 44-366, SM: 31-238. Comp-Att-Int – LW: 14-18-0, SM: 9-14-0. Passing Yards – LW: 123, SM: 152. Total Yards – LW: 489, SM: 390. Fumbles Lost – LW: 0, SM: 0. Penalties-Yards – LW: 3-25, SM: 7-67.
Individual Leaders
Passing – LW: Evans 14-18-0, 123 yards, SM: Horn 9-14-0, 152 yards.
Rushing – LW: Leist 28-302, Evans 7-38, SM: Horn 20-201, Brown 11-37.
Receiving – LW: Lane 7-49, Douwenga 3-30, Robinson 2-29, SM: Cannon 2-58, Chavez 3-53, Brown 4-41.
5 people I talked to after the game
St. Mary’s QB Luke Horn on how hard the team has worked to get here: “We’ve been practicing for two weeks straight (had a bye last week). We’ve been working so very hard. We’ve been grinding at practice and it all paid off tonight.”
Lee Williams Head Coach Zack Regan on what he’ll remember about this team: “The grit. The endless give up. They hit hard, they’re physical, and St. Mary’s isn’t going to forget about them either.”
St. Mary’s S Billy Lewis on the blocked field goal attempt: “I told Coach, ‘Give me a shot.’. He believed in me. I had a little leverage. We had someone come and hit the end guy, so I had a free run.”
St. Mary’s WR Ezekiel Chavez on how it felt to score two touchdowns in a playoff game: “It felt amazing. I only had one last year and this year has been an improvement. I prepared more, I thank God more, and I focus on my life more,”
St. Mary’s Head Coach Jose Lucero on Mica Mountain, next week’s opponent: “They’re really good. We’re going to have our work cut out for us. We’ll get to work and watch some film on them. They’re one of the top dogs for a reason.”
Next week
St. Mary’s (9-2) was one of seven higher-seeded teams to win on Friday (all of whom were coming off a bye week for finishing in the top 8). The Knights will go to Tucson to play at Mica Mountain (10-1). The second-seeded Thunderbolts are not only the two-time defending champions, but they haven’t allowed a point since Oct. 9 (four straight shutouts). Mica Mountain eliminated Thunderbird, 41-0 on Friday. Thunderbird edged St. Mary’s by two earlier this season. This will be the first-ever meeting between MMHS and the Knights.
Lee Williams (9-3) has completed its season. Regan said the future is bright for the Volunteers as this year’s roster had just 13 seniors (10 of which were playing) and eight juniors. There were a total of 19 sophomores on the team, so there will be some varsity experience coming back. It also told a lot that the rest of the offense was able to continue when Leist went out and get into field goal range in both of its fourth-quarter drives.
The post Gridiron Five: St. Mary’s advances to 4A quarterfinals in instant classic first appeared on Sports360AZ.