Last Friday I went out to Queen Creek to watch the #7 Bulldogs take on the #10 Red Mountain Lions in the first round of the 6A State Playoffs. Trailing 31-28 with under a minute left in the game, Lions’ Senior QB Darren Smith unleashed a bomb, that landed right over a Queen Creek DB into the arms of WR Ramses Rivera who dove into the end zone for the game winning touchdown. The Lions defeated the Bulldogs 37-34 to advance to the 6A State quarterfinals.

Darren Smith has been on fire these last couple of weeks and Friday night was no different. Smith hurled four touchdown passes, including the game winner late in the 4th quarter. Smith was in the zone from the first snap and looked extremely comfortable in the pocket. Smith converted on multiple 3rd down conversations delivering strikes to his WRs under pressure. If Smith plays like this against Pinnacle, Red Mountain will be in very good shape.

Ramses Rivera balled out on Friday night. The Junior WR hauled in 2 touchdowns including the game winner. On that play, Rivera showed tremendous hand-eye coordination and athleticism, snagging the pass over the QC Defensive back and diving into the end zone without his knee touching the ground.

Francis Kumi was a monster on a defensive line that wreaked havoc in the Bulldog backfield all night long. Kumi used his long arms and high motor to get past the Queen Creek offensive line, recording 2 sacks along with 6 total tackles.

Defensively, Jace Bond made his first start at Free Safety and was a touchdown machine for the Bulldogs offensively. Bond rushed for 2 touchdowns on only 6 carries (told you, a touchdown machine) and also hauled in a 65-yard touchdown reception. Bond recorded 157 all-purpose yards in his last game of his tremendous Junior campaign.

Trey Reynolds is a warrior. Trailing 30-13, the true Sophomore lead the Bulldogs’ offense to 20 unanswered points to recapture the lead late in the game. In those scoring drives, Reynolds made some huge throws on 3rd down and also bulldozed over Red Mountain defenders for two 4th quarter rushing touchdowns. Reynolds finished with 235 all-purpose yards and 3 total touchdowns.

In his last game in a Queen Creek uniform, Fuhrman absolutely dominated in this football game. Fuhrman used a great bull-rush and swim move technique on the Red Mountain offensive tackles to record 2 huge sacks. Fuhrman finished the night with 10 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Fuhrman was a tremendous player for Queen Creek, he will surely be missed next season.

The Lions’ offense was rolling on Friday night with QB Darren Smith having one of his best performances of his career. Coach Peterson and his staff did an incredible job game planning for the Bulldogs and they had their players ready to battle right from the get-go. Getting a win on the road in the State Playoffs is no easy task, but The Lions’ matched the physicality of a very tough Bulldogs team, which is a big reason why they won this football game.

After starting the season off 7-1, the Queen Creek Bulldogs finished the season losing their last 3 games. I can’t think of another team in the state that was decimated with more season-ending injuries that occurred at the end of the year than this Coach Schureman Bulldogs team. What I do know is that this Queen Creek team made a statement in the 6A this season. In their 1st season in the 6A the Bulldogs faced 6 play-off teams, beating 3 of them in the regular season. Coach Schureman deserves to be looked at as a Coach of the Year candidate; him and his staff have done a tremendous job with this program. There’s a whole lot of talent coming back next year for this Bulldogs team, they’ll be back.

2021 Red Mountain SS George Ramirez (5’10, 170)

Ramirez is one of the best sophomore defensive players I've seen this year. On a 3rd and goal late in the 1st Half, Queen Creek ran a draw play that looked like a for sure touchdown. Ramirez came flying down to fill the alley and just popped the QC RB, stuffing him in his tracks. Ramirez is a great form tackler who can cover really well. This kid’s a beast!!

“We kept telling each other that we were going to get better and better every week. We had a lot of injuries that happen this season, but we always had that next man up mentality.” - Red Mountain QB Darren Smith

Red Mountain will travel north next Friday to take on the Pinnacle Pioneers in the 6A State Quarterfinals. Pinnacle is absolutely loaded at every position offensively. If the Lions don’t get stops on 3rd downs and if they don’t force turnovers, it could be a long night for that defense. However, Red Mountain’s defensive line is phenomenal and their secondary is full of great cover guys who tackle really well. Red Mountain Defensive Coordinator Kyle Enders will have those boys ready to go. If that front 7 can consistently put pressure on Pinnacle’s QB JD Johnson, Red Mountain has a legitimate shot at pulling off the upset. Next Friday has the potential to be another classic in the Arizona high school football history books.