Tehran Thomas sat out Desert Edge's first meeting with Paradise Valley two and a half months ago and could only hope he'd get a chance to show his talent if the teams met again. come postseason.

Thomas got his wish and while he wasn't the most prolific player on the field Saturday afternoon, his overall play and big fourth-quarter run were huge in Desert Edge's come-from-behind 29-27 victory over  Paradise Valley in the Division III championship game at Arizona Stadium.

Thomas, injured when PV defeated Desert Edge 33-21 back on Sept. 10, normally would have been the statistical star of a game in which he accounted for 352 yards (214 rushing and 138 passing). But PV counterpart Daniel Bridge-Gadd produced 454 total yards - (408 passing and 46 rushing) -- all of PV's offense. Not almost all -- all of it. Unbelievably, Bridge-Gadd totaled slightly more -- 471 yards in the regular-season meeting.

When all was said and done, however, Thomas walked off the field with a championship thanks in part to his biggest gain of the day on fourth-and-five at PV's 41 with just under two minutes left to play. At the time, Desert Edge trailed, 27-23, after the lead changed hands for the fifth time with 5:56 left on a Bridge-Gadd To Jacob Brown 54-yard TD toss.

Thomas took the snap in shotgun and looked for an open receiver for a couple moments before opting to tuck and and run up the middle.

"They (PV) are a great team," Thomas said. "It was late and I decided I had to make a play for my team."

Thomas sifted through a narrow crease as he began the scramble and broke to the clear where he was finally hauled down at the 1. It took three plunges after that for Thomas to put Desert Edge ahead for good, 29-27. It also forced PV to use all three of its timeouts before they took possession with 1:27 left. Thomas ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in the game. Thomas finished with 40 rushing attempts -- rare number of attempts for a quarterback.

"It put a fire in me watching the first game and helped me want to do my best if I got the chance," Thomas said.

Desert Ridge picked up its first ever football title in its second try. The first -- back in 2012 -- was a stinging 9-7 loss to Queen Creek in the final seconds at Sun Devil Stadium.