The Chaparral Firebirds rallied from a 13-point deficit midway through the third quarter for a convincing 54-32 victory over the visiting Millennium Tigers in the second round of the 5A-II playoffs Friday night.

The Firebirds were led by the physical play of senior tailback Cole Tyree, who rushed for 216 yards and two scores.

“Cole has busted his ass for us all year,” Chaparral coach Charlie Ragle said. “And he showed why he’s the kid that he is on a night like tonight.”

After falling behind 26-13 in the third quarter, the Firebirds answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive highlighted by a Tyree 30-yard run and capped by a Dwayne Garrett 1-yard touchdown, his second of four on the night.

Millennium went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and Chaparral scored on a 21-yard Tyree touchdown run to claim the lead for good, 27-26, just before the end of the third quarter.

Firebird linebacker Chris Arnold scooped up a Millennium fumble two plays later and ran it back to the 10, setting up a Connor Brewer-to-Rob Moguey touchdown that put Chaparral up 34-26.

The Tigers answered quickly with a 78-yard touchdown pass from Mike Massey to Jason Vizcaino, but the two-point conversion failed, and the Firebirds maintained a 34-32 advantage.

Tyree came back with his second touchdown, a 19-yard rumble up the gut, to put Chaparral up 40-32 after a blocked extra point.

Millennium fumbled the ensuing kickoff on their 9, which led to Garrett’s third touchdown of the evening. He would later close out the scoring with a 12-yard romp with three minutes left in the game.

It wasn’t the best defensive effort for the Firebirds, who gave up 358 yards, but they managed to hold star running-back Marquis Flowers to just 74 yards on 17 carries.

Chris Fox led the Firebirds with 12 tackles. Kyle Combs had eight.

The victory gives Chaparral an opportunity to avenge their sole loss of the season in the semifinals against Desert Mountain.

“I guarantee you one thing,” Ragle said, “The team that showed up November sixth (against Desert Mountain), won’t be the team that shows up in two weeks (for the semifinals).”