Mesa football drop season finale to Scottsdale, 27-20

Mesa, AZ- Mesa dropped their season finale against Scottsdale Saturday night, 27-20 at John D. Riggs Stadium.  

The T-Birds started slow, allowing the Artichokes to score the first 13 points of the game in the first quarter.  But Mesa rebounded in the second quarter, scoring points from an Austin Carver 28 yard field goal then getting a 12 yard touchdown pass from Rathen Ricedorff to Joshua Aganon.

Ricedorff finished the night with 187 yards on 18-32 passing, with two touchdowns and one interception. 

It was 13-10 heading into halftime, with Mesa receiving the ball in the second half.  On their first possession, the T-Birds drove the ball inside the redzone but had to settle again for an Austin Carver 22 yard field goal.   For the night, Carver was successful on both his field goal attempts and PAT's. 

With the game tied, Scottsdale took over and on three plays, ran it in, taking a seven point lead. 

Ricedorff led the T-Birds down again on their next possession for a touchdown, connecting with freshman wide receiver Aaron Molina for a 34 yard touchdown to tie the game back up at 20.

The game stayed tied until the Artichokes scored the decisive touchdown at the 6:18 mark in the fourth quarter.  Mesa had Scottsdale right where they wanted them, third down and goal from the 29 but the Artichokes converted a long pass in the endzone, extending their lead to 27-20, which ended up being the final score. 

Mesa finishes the regular season with a 2-6 record.  Continue to check the athletic website for further updates on game times and location for next weeks game.