Pinnacle high school was more interested than usual Friday night in how their offense would adjust to losing their starting quarterback, Spencer Rattler, due to a sprained MCL.

But not only was Pinnacle down their star player, but Chaparral’s star quarterback, Jack Miller, was also out and watching from the sidelines on crutches due to a high-grade medial collateral knee sprain.

In the battle of backup quarterbacks, Chaparral's Sam Triester fell short to Pinnacle's J.D Johnson, resulting in a 23-7 win for the Pioneers.

Although Ratter’s injury was a disappointment for the No. 2 Pioneers, Johnson was eager to get his chance to show a national television audience (ESPNU) his talent.

Rattler’s injury occurred only three days prior to Friday night’s game and gave Pinnacle little time to make adjustments.

“We are in a really fortunate position to have a D1 backup,” said head coach Dana Zupke. “While the two have different skill sets, they can execute a similar game plan.”

No. 13 Chaparral took a 7-0 lead with 1:50 left in the first quarter, but the Pioneers evened the score 10 seconds into the second quarter with a pass from wide receiver Marcus Libman to running back Kaleb Covington for a 25-yard touchdown.

Johnson ended up throwing for more than 200 yards, and completed a pass to Libman with 2:47 left in the second quarter advancing Pinnacle to a 14-7 lead going into halftime.

However, Pinnacle’s injuries continued as Covington departed after the first half due to a shoulder injury.

But that didn’t stop Johnson and Libman.

“Next man up, that’s our mentality,” Johnson said. “We just got to keep playing our game.”

Kicker Dominic Persi hit a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter and then added two more field goals in the fourth quarter.

“We couldn’t run the ball as well as we had hoped tonight,” Zupke said. “It wasn’t a perfect outing, but J.D didn’t get starting reps this week in practice. So, I think for the number of reps he had this week he did absolutely phenomenal."

Johnson had big shoes to fill while being aired on ESPNU but worked well with his teammates and successfully earned the victory against No.13 Chaparral.

It has not been determined how long Rattler will be out but Rattler expects at least one more week.

If Rattler is out for longer, Johnson and the team are confident and ready.

“I think he’ll still be out,” Libman said, “but J. D’s fine. He’s just as good.”

Pinacle (8-1, 7-0) will play at Boulder Creek (4-5, 2-2) next Friday.