Preview: ALA QC vs Queen Creek
In this article:
Friday night a battle for bragging rights in Queen Creek goes down as ALA Queen Creek travels to face the Bull Dogs. Two teams from the Open Division playoff bracket a season ago face off in hopes to bolster their…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFriday night a battle for bragging rights in Queen Creek goes down as ALA Queen Creek travels to face the Bull Dogs. Two teams from the Open Division playoff bracket a season ago face off in hopes to bolster their resume and try to make a run to another Open appearance. Queen Creek trying to put a stop to their losing streak, with tough games against Saguaro and Pinnacle, and an opening season win against San Joaquin (CA). ALA QC rolls in a perfect 3-0 with an impressive win over Cactus, the 4 seed in last year’s Open Playoff bracket.
Watch out for these players to make an impact Friday night and must have big games in order for their side to get the W.
Queen Creek Bulldogs
The Bull Dogs will need their senior linebackers Porter Reynolds Porter Reynolds 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Queen Creek | 2023 State AZ and Cole Lalama Cole Lalama 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB Queen Creek | 2023 State AZ to step up, play physical, and make big plays for their defense. Lalama leads the team in tackles so far (50 TOT), and Reynolds (NAU commit) behind him with 36, they will need to play well for four quarters to stop this ALA offense. Junior quarterback Mitch Ratigan will have a lot on his plate, needing to control the game and take what the defense is giving him. The key to the Bull Dogs winning this game is for the offense to hold the ball, play physical Queen Creek football, and get the ALA offense off the field on 3rd down opportunities.
American Leadership Academy Queen Creek
This Patriot team is coming off an amazing season last year by going 9-1 getting the #8 seed in the Open Playoffs. And with most of their leaders coming back for their senior year, ALA Queen Creek have their eyes on the Open again, and they should be in the conversation for a higher seed than last year. After beating Cactus 48-7, they showed everyone their offense is still humming. Averaging over 51 points a game, their offense is led by Ryan Meza Ryan Meza 6'0" | 190 lbs | ATH American Leadership Academy (Queen Creek) | 2023 State AZ , Mitch Jensen Mitch Jensen 5'10" | 210 lbs | RB American Leadership Academy (Queen Creek) | 2023 State AZ , and Bubba Agne. Senior QB Drew Cowart Drew Cowart 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB American Leadership Academy - QC | 2023 State AZ is leading the charge, and they look to do the same Friday. Stopping this defense is hard to do and hasn’t been done yet in 2022, watch for the Cowart-Meza connection. The connection between those two and the run game by Jensen will give Queen Creek fits.
These two teams were the #7 and #8 seeds in the playoffs last season and fought hard against some of the top teams not only in the state but in the country. With Queen Creek being hungry and wanting to bunch back from the last couple weeks, and ALA QC looking forward and trying to roll anyone in their way, this collision scheduled for Friday should be a good one.