Stockton Dye guaranteed a smile for the rest of his life Friday night.

The first one came one possession into ALA Gilbert North's home game versus Gilbert.

He shuffled to his left, read the quarterback's eyes, drove on the ball in the flat, picked it off and went 31 yards for the first score in a 49-6 route in 5A San Tan action.

That first grin came when his teammates caught up to him in the East end zone, and it was there again walking out to the 50 on Senior Night.

He'll probably flash it again before falling asleep and anytime he sees his teammates randomly and/or at reunions for years to come as the conversation will ultimately lead to - 'Do you remember Senior Night and your pick 6?'

And there it is - his smile just might last him a lifetime along with all of the other seniors when they remember a game that saw the Eagles (6-1, 2-0) score five touchdowns one play into the second quarter to build an eventual insurmountable lead of 35-0.

“That was a great way to start Senior Night, and it was one to remember,” said Dye, who added a second pick in the first half. “It’s something that I’ll take with me no matter what, and I’ll always smile when thinking about this one.”

The Tigers (4-3, 1-2) came in feeling good after upsetting rival Campo Verde last week but that ended quickly after a plethora of mistakes.

“All sports come down to execution,” Gilbert coach Stevann Brown said. “We didn’t execute – offense, defense, special teams. We have to do better.”

This type of showing was the opposite of what the Tigers did last week and in practice leading up to this game.

“We had a great week of practice, game planned well and came in prepared,” the second-year coach said. “The game isn’t played on Wednesday, or on paper. It’s played on grass and not the film room. It’s how you play on Friday nights. But if you don’t execute the game plan, it doesn’t really matter.”

It started with the interception, plus two fumbles (but recovered), a blocked punt by ALA Gilbert North senior Zyon Leuluai inside their own red zone, a bad shot gun snap that led to intentional grounding and a 20-yard punt and a second interception. 

The Gilbert defense spent most of the first quarter not only on the field but defending drives that start on its own side of the field.

The only Gilbert score came on special teams when Jonathan Guy returned the second-half kickoff 78 yards for a score.

 “These kids play hard, and at no point has this team quit,” he said. “They haven’t given up in any game and that’s something we can build on going forward.”

Gilbert's Jonathan Guy returned the second-half kickoff for a score. (Photo by Jayden Mapalo, Gilbert High School)

ALA Gilbert North is feeling good and pushing toward the region title after touchdowns by senior wide receiver Garrett Baker, junior quarterback Ben Livingston and senior running back Brecken Mitchell.

“We were able to get those scores and make them pay for the mistakes,” senior offensive lineman Easton Rivero said. “They came in thinking they were going win after they beat Campo. We scored a lot, real quick to make sure they knew we weren’t letting them come in here like that.”

Since losing 29-7 – a game it the Eagles led 7-6 at halftime – to Desert Edge on September 19, ALA Gilbert North has won three straight games via a defensive shutout and a running clock.

It has the Eagles prepped for a home match-up with 7-0 Arizona College Prep next week that will determine the front runner in the region and a possible top seed in the 5A playoffs.

“It doesn’t hurt to have a wake-up call,” Eagles coach Ty Detmer said of the loss to the Scorpions. “The hope is it will be better for us down the stretch. Now, we are at that point. It showed us we had to work harder, and we better be ready for the tougher games at the end of the schedule especially if we want to win a state title.”