#7 Queen Creek knocks off #10 Gilbert again to advance to 6A Quarterfinals

It’s not unheard of to have rematches of regular-season games in the playoffs, but the rematch being in one week of each other is. 

That happened Wednesday night when the Queen Creek Bulldogs defeated the Gilbert Tigers 28-20 to move onto the quarterfinals in the 6A playoffs. 

Both teams came out of the gates with impressive touchdowns. 

On Gilbert's opening drive, their junior quarterback Lilah Barton was using her arm and legs to get the ball down the field. 

Gilbert capped off their drive with a touchdown as Barton connected with junior wide receiver Raegan Roger for a 1-yard touchdown. 

Queen Creek then responded with a touchdown drive of their own.

The Bulldogs had a very similar drive to Gilbert as they were marching down the field with ease and moving the chains. 

The drive was finished with Queen Creek’s junior quarterback Emma Reynolds connecting with sophomore athlete Amaya Rodgers for a 14-yard touchdown.

In the second quarter, Queen Creek was able to get their first lead of the game.

The scoring drive was similar to their first one as they got down the field effectively, and it was capped off by Reynolds keeping it herself and running into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. 

Reynolds said just because it was a playoff game that nothing changed with how she performed and mentality. 

“Just the same old thing,” Reynolds said. “Going out there, making the throws, making the plays.”

Late in the second quarter, though, Gilbert was able to get their offense going.

They put together their best drive of the first half since their opening one. 

The Tigers marched down the field, and their quarterback, Barton, was able to scamper into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.  

Things only got better for Gilbert as, with less than 30 seconds in the first half, their defense snagged an interception.

The interception was caught by senior defensive back Brylee Gaylord.

With little time left, Gilbert still managed to get into field goal range. The field goal was made by Gilbert's sophomore kicker Allison Bogle from 24 yards out. 

Gilbert held a 17-14 lead over Queen Creek at halftime. 

The head coach for Queen Creek, Mikel Moreno, simply told his team to calm down after the collapse late in the second quarter. 

“I said, everybody just calm down, we’re down by 3 points,” Moreno said. “We haven’t played through it all. If we just clean it up, we’re just gonna be fine.” 

Queen Creek took that halftime message and ran away with it. 

On the first drive of the second half, the Bulldogs put together another great drive.

They ended up taking their lead back as Reynolds threw a moon ball to junior wide receiver Alessia Velasquez for a 35-yard touchdown. 

The defense then came up huge for Queen Creek as they intercepted Gilbert early in the third quarter. 

Making the interception was Rodgers, who has been terrific on both sides of the ball this season. 

Even though they didn’t capitalize on the interception, Queen Creek still added to their lead late in the third quarter. 

It was once again Reynolds throwing a deep ball to Rodgers for a 36-yard touchdown, and Queen Creek was on fire. 

Queen Creek beat Gilbert just a week ago, but Rodgers knew they had to improve this time around if they wanted to win again.

“We watched film,” Rodgers said. “We just realized we needed to play better defense and fix our offense.” 

Queen Creek looked like a much better team this time around.

Gilbert didn’t go down without a fight, though, as early in the fourth quarter, their senior linebacker Nyah Adams made a crucial interception.

The Tigers then had to settle for a field goal to cut the lead to eight points.

It was once again Bogle making the field goal for Gilbert, this time from 27 yards. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Gilbert had one more chance to tie the game up and keep their season alive. 

The attempt fell short, though, as Queen Creek's defense came up big and caused a turnover on downs near the goal line. 

Queen Creek’s season lives on as they will go on the road now to face #2-ranked Marana in the quarterfinals this Saturday. 

The Bulldogs are excited to keep on fighting and have their season continue. 

“We’re super excited, win and advance,” Moreno said. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge, they’re (ranked) #2, and they are that for a reason. Our girls are looking forward to that challenge.”

Next up: Queen Creek will visit #2 Marana in the 6A quarterfinals. Gilbert's season comes to a close.