No. 13 Pinnacle (4-3) came into its game against No. 8 Desert Mountain (3-3) with a chip on its shoulder.

Not just because it had lost its last two games to Centennial and Mountain Pointe, but also because its 6A regional foe and opponent, Desert Mountain, was ranked significantly higher in the first AIA rankings released Tuesday.

If the displeasure in the rankings brought upon any extra motivation, then the Pioneers would probably be fine in the underdog role for the rest of the season.

Behind quarterback Spencer Rattler, Pinnacle rolled to a 77-29 victory over Desert Mountain at home.

“I just kind of wanted to show that the rankings, they don’t matter,” Rattler said.

Rattler, who committed to Oklahoma on June 27, had the first-hand eyes of Sooners’ head coach Lincoln Riley on the sidelines watching him on his birthday.

“He (Coach Riley) texted me yesterday and said he was going to come out,” Rattler said. “So I knew I had to put on a show, and I think I did pretty well.

“He knew it was birthday I think and he timed in up perfectly – to put up 77, I think that’s a good present.”

And boy, did he put on a show.

Despite playing just under three quarters, Rattler threw for 395 yards on 16-of-25 passing, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

His receivers consistently got past every line of Desert Mountain defenders and Rattler rarely missed them – racking up completions of 41, 51, 67 and 73 yards in the first half alone, exciting Riley and the Pioneer crowd on each.

“I knew with Quinton Powell, he runs a 4.4 (40-yard dash) on our team,” Rattler said. “We were going to just get him out in space and turn on his burners and just air it out to him.”

Pinnacle had the offense churning, playing without a turnover while converting on plenty of third-down conversions. And in a culmination of what was practically a perfect night for the Pioneers offense, Pinnacle didn’t attempt a punt the entire night.

That precision from the offense kept Pinnacle’s defense on the field for the majority of the game. And consistently throughout the night, it got pressure on the Wolves’ quarterbacks.

Whether it was the starter Kedon Slovis or Riley Tucker, who took over at halftime, time was a rarity in the pocket.

“We called a lot of blitzes this game and they worked perfectly,” linebacker Hogan Hatten said. “The D-line stunted correctly and took their guy out of the play, giving me a free shot at the quarterback.”

The Wolves need to go through the air to get back into the game – Slovis attempted 32 passes just in the first half. But the Pioneers’ front seven seemed to blitz at all times, forcing the Wolves into quick slants and curls that were never able to get them going.

“We wanted to pressure them, we think that’s where we had a good matchup,” Coach Dana Zupke said. “They’ve got a very good couple of receivers and quarterback so we just wanted to get to them as quick as we could.”

The win will vault Pinnacle up in the rankings, it broke the losing streak, but most importantly to Zupke, it will put the team at 1-0 in the region.

“It’s really nice to open up region against a quality opponent and come out with a convincing win,” Zupke said.