The Valley Union Blue Devils won the 1A state championship Saturday night beating the Pima Roughriders 28-12 in Apache Junction.

David Kadlubowski/Arizona Republic Valley Union players (from left) Owen Mortensen, Quarterback Jordan Landwerlen and Eduardo Garcia celebrate their win Saturday. The Blue Devils capped off a 10-0 season with a 28-12 win over the Pima Roughriders. The championship was Valley Union’s first in football since 1986.

It had been over 20 years since Valley Union last won a state championship in football.

Because the state championship game featured two southern Arizona schools, athletic directors for both schools tried to find a more neutral site that would benefit both teams and their fans. Valley Union was willing to play the game in Willcox; Pima officials wanted Thatcher – a town located five miles away from Pima.

When no compromise could be reached the game was moved back to its original site Apache Junction.

Pima, 9-1 overall, 6-0 in league play and the No.1 seed from the 1A East, entered the championship game with back to back shutouts beating St. David 62-0 and Joseph City 50-0.

Valley Union, 9-0 overall, 6-0 in league play and the No.1 seed from the 1A South, beat Valley Lutheran 68-8 in the first game before narrowly beating Mogollon 32-30 the following week in the semifinals.

Valley Union's running backs, Luis Martinez and Kenny Brown, wore down the Pima defense as Brown finished with 199 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns while Martinez ran for 137 yards on 29 carries and also had two scores.

Martinez got the Blue Devils on the board on their opening drive of the night scoring on a 2-yard run up the middle.

Tied 6-6 Brown’s12-yard run to the outside midway through the second quarter broke a 6-6 tie and gave Valley Union a 14-6 lead at the half. He added a 39-yard touchdown run midway through the third to give Valley Union a 20-6 lead.

Pima used a 91-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to 21-12 but Martinez closed out the scoring with an 8-yard TD run with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

The state championship is Valley Union's third state title and first since 1986.

"It's been a while since we brought one home, so it was about time we brought one home," Valley Union coach Tony Luzania told the Arizona Republic. "This is just a special group of kids. They worked hard all year long.

"Our line was just great. They have blocked for us all year long. Without them, we wouldn't have done anything."

"Valley Union was better and stronger," Pima coach John Bryant said. "This was their year. They deserved it. "We're a young team. We'll be back."

Valley Union finishes the year 10-0 while Pima closes out at 9-2.