In a tale of two halves, the third-seeded Saguaro Sabercats defeated the 11th-seeded Independence Patriots 38-23 at home Friday night to secure a spot in the 4A-1 semifinals.

After a despicable first half left Saguaro trailing 10-0, the Cats outscored the Patriots 38-13 for the remainder of the game. Saguaro's offense and defense stepped up in the second half to secure a victory, but the comeback was started by special teams.

The Sabercats came out of the gate swinging to start the third quarter. Kick returner Lucas Petrullo quickly cut into the Independence lead when he returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

“We made some major adjustments at the half,” said Saguaro coach John Sanders. “Our blockers executed better in the second half and we really got Teddy [Ruben] going up the middle.”

Following a 16-yard touchdown connection between Independence quarterback Tyler Peoples and wide receiver Michael Huerta that put the Patriots up 17-7, Saguaro quarterback Ruben mystified the Independence defense with a 58-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to three.

Ruben added another score later in the game when he connected with wide receiver Kyle Young on a 41-yard bomb. Ruben finished the game 5-for-9 for 53 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He ran for 146 yards and one touchdown.

On Independence’s second drive of the third quarter, the Sabercat defense finally made the stop it had been looking for. On an Independence fourth down, defensive back Jon Lindemann recovered a muffed punt attempt on the Patriot 5-yard line. DJ Foster put the Cats ahead for good with a 5-yard touchdown run.

With the exception of the touchdown pass early in the third quarter, the Sabercat defense shut down the Patriots in the second half. Senior captain Jordan McDonald collected three sacks, while Cyrus Hobbi and Brock Haman each had one.

Running backs Danny Clark and Bobby McGinty moved the ball nicely to run down the clock in the fourth quarter. McGinty ran for 33 yards on six attempts, while Clark collected 52 yards and one touchdown.

Peoples played well for Independence, going 13-for-23 for 207 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 58 yards. Tyler Vache pulled in 104 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Patriots.

“Give credit to Independence,” said Sanders. “They knew what we wanted to do offensively and executed well on defense in the first half. They have an athletic quarterback, and he played well out there.”

The Sabercats will look to defeat seventh-seeded Sabino next week in an attempt to play for a fourth consecutive 4A-1 championship.

"We can't play like this next week," said Sanders. "We have to play four, full quarters, not two."