COTTONWOOD — Noah Petrauschke threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead No. 8-ranked Lee Williams to within one game of a Grand Canyon region title after a 32-12 victory over Mingus on Friday night.

It is the fourth straight win for the Volunteers (8-1, 4-0 4A Grand Canyon), which have only lost to No. 1-ranked Mohave (3A) this season.

Head coach Stevann Brown, who tipped his cap to Mingus for their efforts despite the three-score win, said his club plans to approach the next week like any other.

“There’s obviously a little more elevation to the game, there’s a little more at stake,” Brown said. “But we approach it like we always do. We don’t change things up.”

Lee Williams is scheduled to host Bradshaw Mountain (7-2, 3-1 4A Grand Canyon) on Friday, Nov. 3, in the regular season finale for a region championship. The Bears beat Flagstaff 49-32 on Friday night.

Win, and they hoist a Grand Canyon title. Lose, and a potential three-way tie for first could take place, leaving it up to a tie-breaker scenario that includes not just head-to-head, but power point rankings.

“We’re excited for the opportunity, and I think we’ll be ready to go,” Brown said.

HOW THEY SCORED

Mingus (4-5, 1-3 4A Grand Canyon) would get on the board first after stopping Lee Williams on their first possession and marching down the field to get within striking distance.

Isaiah Lathon, all 6-foot-2, 245 pounds of him, did his best impersonation of “The Fridge,” former Chicago Bears defensive tackle William Perry.

Lathon, like Perry, wears jersey No. 72. Also like Perry, the Mingus senior took a handoff from 2-yards out for a touchdown to put Mingus up 6-0 with 2:38 to play in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Petrauschke found Thomas Doxtader for a 33-yard touchdown strike on fourth down to give the Volunteers a 7-6 lead.

After a Kruz Yocum 3-yard touchdown run to put Lee Williams up 14-6, Izaiah Orozco hit a 40-yard field goal to make it 17-6 Volunteers with 1:23 to go in the half.

Seconds later, Petrauschke took advantage of a Mingus turnover with a 23-yard toss to Gabe Garcia for a 25-6 lead at the break.

Petrauschke wasn’t done, however, as he sprinted for an 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 32-6.

Mingus kept fighting, though, as Isaac Sena scored on a 26-yard run with 40 ticks left to make it 32-12, but the lead was too much to overcome for the Marauders.

REGION TITLE GAME

There is a scenario that could see a three-way tie atop the Grand Canyon region. That would involve No 12-ranked Bradshaw Mountain traveling to Kingman and upending Lee Williams next week, and if No. 13 Coconino beats Flagstaff in their finale, all three teams would be 4-1.

And, with Bradshaw Mountain beating Lee Williams, the Volunteers beating Coconino in overtime earlier this season (20-14, Oct. 6) and the Panthers throttling the Bears back on Sept. 29, 41-7, things could get a bit messy, and a tiebreaker scenario could come down to the power point rankings.

With that, Petrauschke said the Volunteers need to get back to work Monday, and admitted to making a few mistakes Friday against Mingus that need to be cleaned up quickly.

“I was a little out of it, I was kind of sick this week. We did our thing, kept our head in the game. I made some reads that were questionable, but got the job done,” Petrauschke said, adding that he’s looking forward to the challenge of beating Bradshaw Mountain for the region crown.

“Knowing what we did this year and what we can accomplish. We have a great chance to do something great for this program,” Petrauschke said.

Coach Brown said “cool” was an understatement when asked about the potential of the Volunteers winning a region title.

“It’s so amazing for our town, for our kids, for our community and for our school. For the previous five or six years, we’ve had coaches who roll through that have worked hard for our community to put our program in a position where it is today,” Brown said.

UP NEXT

Mingus will travel over the mountain to play Prescott in their season finale Friday, Nov. 3. The Badgers (3-6, 1-3 4A Grand Canyon) lost at Coconino on Friday, 42-37.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Lee Williams returns home to face Bradshaw Mountain for the region title Nov. 3. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.