Colgin Hirschel is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Queen Creek for AZPreps365.com.

Queen Creek matched up against a five-loss ALA-Queen Creek team Thursday night and was upset 41-8.

Queen Creek sophomore quarterback Sawyer Hales threw six interceptions, the most since head coach Travis Schureman’s first tenure leading Queen Creek, and the most thrown by a Bulldog since Tait Reynolds’ first career start in 2023, when he threw five against Mesa Mountain View.

“We played a team who wanted it more than us tonight,” Schureman said. “They played with a sense of urgency, and we didn’t.”

Despite the six interceptions, Hales picked up a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Thursday night marked the second time in three games Hales had no passing touchdowns.

“Sawyer is a tough kid,” Schureman said. “Not one game ever defines who he is.”

Offensive coordinator Scooter Molander acknowledged the struggles of Hales but continued to praise the young quarterback.

“He made some throws he wants back… It’s a team thing; like, he was under some pressure,” Molander said. “As a young kid, he’s done a great job for us.”

ALA-Queen Creek's defense entered the rivalry matchup without a pick against its opponents all season, which made Hales' six interceptions even more unpredictable. 

Junior defensive back Bryce Devlin is now the only Patriots player to have multiple interceptions in a game this season, with two against the Bulldogs.

Despite growing pains, the Queen Creek defense continued to find ways to get the ball back into its young quarterback's hands. The Bulldogs added defensive turnovers No. 14 and No. 15 on the season after picking off ALA-Queen Creek senior quarterback Britt Dewitt twice.

Paired with the defensive impact, ALA-Queen Creek senior wide receiver and McClintock transfer Khalil Bender caught two passing touchdowns in just his second game with ALA-Queen Creek. 

The Patriots defense added to the scoring with a pick-six from senior defensive tackle Rex Curtis. 

“That’s a dream come true,” Curtis said. “I’ve been hoping for that for my whole life, but yeah, I was just trying to run as fast as I can to get into that end zone.”

The pick-six from Curtis on Queen Creek’s fourth drive started a stretch that saw five combined drives with interceptions, with two being thrown in the final seven seconds of the first half, one from each team.

The loss for Queen Creek is the latest in their struggle against its rival opponent. 

Since these two teams played their first game against each other in 2022, ALA-Queen Creek has a 3-to-1 advantage, scoring at least 41 points in the last three meetings. 

The Patriots have outscored the Bulldogs 142-57 over those four matchups.

With the loss, Queen Creek has now lost three of its last four games.

With three games remaining on its schedule, every week becomes a must-win scenario for Schureman and the Bulldogs if they want to return for the open division playoffs for the first time since 2021.