The ALA Queen Creek defense is a riddle that has yet to be solved in eight weeks of top 6A competition.

Highland became the latest victim Friday night. The stats hardly tell the true story but anyone in attendance could.

The Patriot defense controlled the game from nearly start to finish while the offense got big plays from its receivers, as ALA-Queen Creek shut down visiting Highland, 26-7 in a 6A East Valley Region contest. 

"Our defense did what they normally do," ALA-Queen Creek coach Rich Edwards said afterwards. "They put alot of pressure on the quarterback and made him run around. We were honestly hoping to get the shutout...but we got some guys in at the end that got some playing time and good experience."

Dealing with the Patriots (7-1, 1-1) and their defense was not a pleasant experience for Highland (6-2, 1-2), which struggled offensively all night, despite considerable time of posession and 23 first downs. The Hawks avoided the shutout when quarterback Kalen Fisher found tight end Hayden Daugherty from 13 yards with 17 seconds left in the game and many of ALA-QC's starters on the sideline. Before that score, the Hawks never got past the Patriots 40-yard line. 
The win should send ALA-QC a few spots up the Open rankings, where they entered the game at No. 7.
Highland was ranked No. 9 before the loss. 
 

How it Happened

It was a typical night at the office for a Patriot defense that's allowed 70 points in eight games. Highland entered Friday's contest averaging 25 points per game. After a couple first downs on their first drive, the Hawks never put a sustained drive together until the game's last minute, finishing with 49 total rushing yards.
Highland went to the short passing game, relying on tight end Gavin Priestley and slot receiver Max Brown, but ALA-QC's defense was too quick and physical too allow anything signifigant.

"Our coaches always tell us '11 hats to the ball, always try to fly to the ball, try to get turnovers whenever we can,"' Linebacker Eli Shaver said after the game.

That sounds like defensive strategy 101, but the Patriots execute it perhaps better than any team in the state. Led by linebackers Brodys Michael and Ryder Agne, ALA-QC used its lightning-quick pursuit to stifle Highland all night, eventually overwhelming Fisher with pressure as soon as the ball was snapped.

"We started playing man-to-man coverage and that's when we really started getting to their quarterback," Shaver added. "Our coaches put us in the right places."

Shaver had an interception and Ryder Agne scopped up a late first-half fumble that led to a Tosh Peterson field goal and a 10-0 lead. Linebacker Luke McBratney blocked a Highland punt out of the endzone in the third quarter which gave the Patriots a 19-0 lead.

Quarterback Duo?

ALA-QC threw a wrinkle into the game when back up quarterback Britton DeWitt started the second half. Senior Crew Dannels, a transfer from Nevada, secured the starting job over Kade Rollins after a couple of games into the season, while DeWitt was sitting the first five games after transferring from Casteel.
Dannells played the entire first half Friday night. He connected with Boe Sparks on a 51-yard scoring strike in the first quarter, giving the Patriots a 7-0 lead. Dannels threw an interception in the second quarter, and finished the first half completing 6-of-16 passes for 117 yards. 
 

Dewitt unexpectedly saw his first playing time of the season when he started and played the entire second half. He engineered an 80-yard scoring drive during his first possession, which running back Brandon Brown finished with a four yard run, giving ALA a 17-0 lead. The Patriots rushing attack began wearing Highland down in the second half, and DeWitt settled in nicely, finishing 7-of-8 for 105 yards, the highlight being a 42-yard touchdown to Kingston McCabe and a 26-0 lead.

"Crew has done a great a great job for us this year, we just felt like were lacking fluidity the last couple game," coach Edwards said of the quarterback switch. "We'll look at it and go from here, but more than anything, it was just a change of pace."

Regardeless of how the quarterback position plays out, DeWitt was grateful to get his shot. "It's been my dream since I was younger to play varsity football here and just to do what I love, and play in front of my family up there" DeWitt said afterward. 

"It was a good team win...there's some small things we gotta fix but I think we're heading in the right direction. Our defense is one of the best in the state, and it only helps us in practice."

Patriot (Defensive) Games

ALA-QC's defense is giving up an average of 8.75 points per game. Of the 70 total points allowed, 37 have come in the first half. Red Mountain is the only team to score score twice in the first half against ALA-QC. 

Next Up

ALA-Queen Creek seems locked in to the Open at this point, but still faces two teams who pulled off upsets Friday night. The Patriots visit Williams Field (4-4) next week, and the BlackHawks are coming off a 17-10 win over Perry. In week 10 looms a big rivalry showdown with Queen Creek (7-1) who handed Red Mountain its first loss of the season Friday night.

Highland likely won't return to crack the top eight, but then again, stranger things have happened. The Hawks get a shot at Queen Creek next Friday coming off its big win over Red Mountain. A Highland upset against the Bulldogs could make things interesting.

 

Ben Stapley is a staff writer for AZPreps365. For high school related sports and human interest stories, contact him at bstapley@azpreps365.com or 480 295-9125