With 46 seconds left and the ball at the 1-yard line, Desert Oasis had a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, Palo Verde’s defense made the stop it needed.

The Panthers (11-3, 1-0 Class 5A) held on for a 14-13 victory Wednesday at Desert Oasis in a rematch of last year’s state championship game. The Diamondbacks (9-1, 0-1) saw their undefeated season end after a potential go-ahead two-point conversion was broken up.

After a defensive pass interference call gave Desert Oasis new life, quarterback Akemi Higa connected with her twin sister Akiko for a touchdown. Coach Rick Eurich’s team then chose to go for two. Akemi Higa’s pass to her sister in the corner of the end zone was swatted away by Jenelys Ferrer-Leo.

“Our goal was to come out on fire and get some momentum going early, which we did, and luckily we did, because they adjusted and slowed us down,” Eurich said. “(Desert Oasis) went for the win, and we locked her down on that one play — the one that we needed.”

Palo Verde jumped ahead early. Quarterback Yolana Huff threw a 17-yard touchdown to Savannah Lunkwitz two minutes into the game. She added a 10-yard scoring strike to Lunkwitz late in the second quarter.

Desert Oasis found its rhythm in the second half. Akemi Higa found freshman Emly Tobiason for a touchdown with 4:15 left in the third quarter to make it 14-7.

Huff finished 13-for-24 for 168 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Shelbi Madsen had six catches for 106 yards. Akemi Higa went 19-for-33 for 241 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.