FLAGSTAFF — Kylin Jackson had three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score on a fourth down and six play to give Bradshaw Mountain a 28-21 victory on Friday night.

It is the sixth straight win for the No. 4-ranked Bears (7-2, 5-0 4A Grand Canyon), which claimed their first Grand Canyon region title since 2022.

The Panthers (5-4, 4-1 4A Grand Canyon) were searching for their first region title since 2020, the second of back-to-back crowns starting in 2019.

Bradshaw Mountain coach Bob Young said he made the fourth down call with 3:15 to go in the third quarter because there was no telling what would happen if his club gave the ball back to the home team on a frigid evening in Flagstaff.

At the time, Coconino had scored 15 unanswered points to tie the game 21-21 after Bradshaw was up 21-6.

“They had all the momentum at that point in time,” Young said. “… That was the end of the game. If they stop us, there’s no telling what’s going to happen because their offense had all the momentum.”

Jackson opened the game’s scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 6-0, then added a 4-yard score to make it 14-0 with 4:43 to play in the first quarter.

Coconino coach Gary Cook felt it was hard for his team to recover from that “horrible” start, but they did a good job being resilient.

“They got off to a 14-0 lead in the first seven minutes and then after that, I thought we pretty much contained them. They did have some moments,” Cook said. “I felt like we fought back, and we had a chance to win the game. After a horrible start, our guys got it under control. We have a good football team.”

At the 11:47 mark in the second quarter, Coconino did fight back as Dylan Callado scored on a 9-yard touchdown run to cut the Bears lead to 14-6.

But then the Panther defense surrendered a 21-yard touchdown toss by Michael Sanford after he found Landon Taggart wide open in the endzone, giving Bradshaw Mountain a 21-6 lead with 3:36 to play in the second quarter.

Coconino answered, as Dylan Buckley scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds to go before half to make it 21-13.

As some fans could be seen taking their blankets and going home during a bitter cold halftime show, Coconino players used the opportunity to warm up in the locker room and came out looking to continue their momentum.

And they did just that.

Callado would score on Coconino’s first possession of the second half on a 22-yard touchdown scamper and after a two-point conversion, both teams were tied at 21-21 with 4:44 to play in third quarter.

On the ensuring possession, Bradshaw Mountain’s Young called told his players to go for it on fourth down and Jackson came through with a 38-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 28-21 lead with 3:15 to play in the third quarter and they held on to victory.

“I needed my blockers. I told them before the play, on that fourth down, this is for the region championship. Without them I’m nothing. I need them to succeed every game,” Jackson said, giving kudos to Coconino quarterback Jake Hanley, who was tough to contain for much of the night.

“Their quarterback was running all over us all game. Shout out to Coconino because they gave us a dog fight,” Jackson said.

Young said he was impressed with Hanley.

Their quarterback hurt us on some runs. I thought we did a good job shutting down their option, and that’s what we were really focused on, and their quarterback hurt us,” Young said.

UP NEXT

Bradshaw Mountain heads into rivalry week as they gear up for Prescott on Thursday, Oct. 30. The Badgers beat the Bears 27-17 a season ago in Prescott Valley and claimed the region title a week later.

“We have to win, and get ready for playoffs, to be honest,” Jackson said. “Prescott, they’re kind of struggling, but they are a really good team so, we have to get ready for them.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Coconino has a rivalry game to think about themselves as they’ll play Flagstaff in the Walkup Skydome on the campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Kickoff on Oct. 30 is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.