Queen Creek received a productive night from junior quarterback Mitch Ratigan and senior receiver Payden Anderson in its decisive victory over host Desert Ridge.

Ratigan passed for two touchdowns and ran for another with Anderson on the receiving end of both scoring throws in the Bulldogs 35-10 triumph. Queen Creek improved to 3-2 and Desert Ridge fell to 1-4.

Desert Ridge hung around until late in the third quarter, trailing 21-10. Queen Creek doused the notion of a comeback, scoring on its possession after Desert Ridge's 27-yard field goal with 3:18 left in the third. Queen Creek's knockout punch was an eight-play, 61-yard march culminating in Anderson's second TD reception from Ratigan with 1:25 left in the third. 

Ratigan shared QB duties with freshman Tait Reynolds, who managed a TD throw of his own - 19 yards to Davey Morales for Queen Creek's final points of the first half (a 21-7 lead at intermission). The final points were tallied with 10:43 to play. The Bulldogs Diego Morales did the honors with a 7-yard run, capping a seven-play, 70-yard drive. 

"This was our best game in all phases so far," Queen Creek coach Travis Schureman said. "We did what we wanted on offense. We ran the ball well. And everyone got to play."

Queen Creek rushed for 210 yards unofficially and another 85 yards came via the air. Desert Ridge managed 16 yards rushing in the first half and resorted to throwing in the second half given the deficit it faced. The Jaguars completed 16 of 28 passes for 124 yards. Their lone TD was a 1-yard connection between quarterback Major Wootan and receiver Angelo Jones-Gutierrez in the second quarter.

Perhaps the key moment in the game was Queen Creek's answer to Desert Ridge's only TD at the 8:32 mark of the second quarter. The Jaguars had cut the lead at that point to 14-7. Queen Creek's response was a nearly six-minute drive covering 62 yards ending with the Reynolds to Davey Morales TD from 19 yards out.

Both schools play again next week. Queen Creek's opponent  (Oct. 7) is Chaparral - a home game for the Bulldogs. Desert Ridge makes the trek to the West Valley to play Cesar Chavez.