Jonathan Levinsky is an ASU Cronkite School of Jouralism student assigned to cover Benjamin Franklin for AZPreps.com

The No. 1 overall seed in 3A Benjamin Franklin Chargers continued their march toward a potential state title, as they forced the No. 8 seeded Show Low Cougars to leave Queen Creek with a donut on the scoreboard Friday night. 

In their 21-0 win over the Cougars in the quarterfinals, the Chargers delivered arguably their best defensive performance of the season with two interceptions, a fumble, and multiple turnover on downs.

The offense, though not as nimble due to it being without junior quarterback Gavin Wyler, capitalized off of most of the turnovers, scoring 14 in the second quarter to make up for a scoreless first quarter, and then scoring with around 5 minutes left in the fourth to put the game on ice for the Chargers (12-0).

“Our defense came ready to play,” head coach Danny Norris said. “Our defensive staff had them locked in. And I think when you can control the ball on offense as well; when you can run the rock the way we did tonight, the defense makes it easier when they’re getting some takeaways as well.”

Defensive coordinator Jeremy Saber heralded his unit’s physicality and mindset as to why they kept the Cougars (8-4) out of the end zone, something they had only accomplished once prior to the game.

“We knew it was going to take all 11 guys doing their job all night,” Saber said. “And they responded.”

The Chargers relied heavily on junior backup quarterback Trent Dutkiewicz's legs in short goal-to-go distances in their 21-0 win over the Show Low Cougars on Friday, Nov. 15 in Queen Creek, Ariz. (Jonathan Levinsky//AzPreps365)

It was crucial for the defense to be nothing short of perfect tonight, as in lue of Wyler, Norris inserted junior Trent Dutkiewicz into the QB1 role.

“I was nervous, but mostly excited,” Dutkiewicz said. “I felt like a leader on offense.”

Dutkiewicz, usually the starting tight end, was technically listed as QB2 on the depth chart, but since he was already on the starting offense, he only took live snaps in a limited capacity, meaning that tonight’s game was really his first time being under center full-time. 

One of the reasons why Norris felt comfortable with putting Dutkiewicz in such a position is because he felt confident in his running ability.

Midway through the second quarter, with the team already up 7-0, Dutkiewicz converted a 4th down on the ground, made a move, and ran for another 15 yards before diving for the pylon of the endzone. While he was ultimately marked out at the 1, the effort displayed on that play made Norris feel justified in his decision.

“That’s all him, that’s not coaching at all, that’s the player,” Norris said. “He stepped up when we needed him to step up. Not a single person in this program doubted him.” 

As a quarterback should, Dutkiewicz also made plays with his arm, hitting senior wideout Talan Spier on a 34-yard post route to open up the scoring early in the second quarter. 

With only two games standing in between Benjamin Franklin and the 3A state title, Norris' message to his team remains the same: “Do what we do.”

“I think that it’s worked all year,” Norris said. “We’ve faced adversity all year, and we’ve come out on top. We just need to play our game for 48 minutes and not worry about the opponent.”

The Benjamin Franklin Chargers (12-0) play fifth-seeded Pusch Ridge Christian Academy Lions (10-2) on Nov. 24 at 6 pm in the semifinals. The winner of this game will play either #2 Valley Christian (11-1) or #3 Round Valley (11-1) in the state title game on Nov. 29.