Other articles by Tyler Hansen:

Opinion by Tyler Hansen: The winner is... High schools' best Pusch Ridge seniors treat their beat feet after another feat Weldon's intense focus leads to a big celebrationMiraculous comeback lifts Lancers Surprising Ironwood Ridge is 'prepared' for its opportunity to capture a state title Cienega overcomes ejections, late-game mistakes to advance Opinion by Tyler Hansen : Some fearless predictions as 2008 state titles go on the line Opinion by Tyler Hansen : Quiet Hawk makes noise with stick Fridley accepts advice, paces Eagles past Titans Foothills is No. 1 even without No. 1

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Santa Rita defensive tackle Orlando Rascon stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, 175 pounds — the kind of lineman you're more likely to find on a Pop Warner team.

During Friday's Class 4A-II state quarterfinal game, two large Bradshaw Mountain offensive linemen threw Rascon to the ground like bullies in a schoolyard.

Rascon landed at the feet of quarterback Marshall Bailey, who didn't even notice Rascon until the tiny defender grabbed Bailey by his legs and tossed him on his back.

"When I was on the ground," Rascon said, "I just told myself, 'I can't give up right now. I'm way too close to stop.'"

Those words, more than any others, define the 2007 Santa Rita football team, which floored visiting Bradshaw Mountain 34-20 to move on to the semifinal round.

Trampled by everyone during an 0-10 season one year ago, the fourth-seeded Eagles are now 11-1, the feel-good story of this or any decade, and one win away from the state championship game.

Like Rascon said: Why stop now?

"The way we played tonight, we're not Cinderella anymore," first-year coach Jeff Scurran said. "This is a very good story, and I understand that, but if we keep playing this way, we've got a chance to do some very, very special things."

Scurran should know. He won three state titles at Sabino and took nine teams to the semifinals there from 1988 to 1999.

Now he has semifinal team No. 10, a batch of undersized and underestimated players who proved against Bradshaw Mountain (8-5) that they are legitimate title contenders.

"(Scurran) downplayed his team in our newspaper, I think to psych us out. And to a certain extent, it got to us," said Bradshaw senior Ben Pigg, who had a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game. "They hadn't played big competition like we have, but they're fast, they're quick, and they're really good."

The secret has now spread to the rest of the state. The doormat team from Tucson is on the doorstep of the state finals.

The Eagles' makeup is probably 20 percent talent, 80 percent persistence. Sophomore lineman Jaquari Kountz dislocated his left shoulder two minutes into the second half. Two plays later, he was back in the game.

After a season like 2006, no one on the Santa Rita roster wants to miss a second of the most remarkable turnaround in Tucson high school football history.

"It's amazing that we've come this far," Rascon said. "I remember saying in the summer, 'We're going to win state this year. I don't know how we'll pull it off, but we will.'"