Queen Creek advances with ease

The playoffs are here, and Queen Creek coach Curt LeBlanc said there is no room for an off night.

LeBlanc's team was operating efficiently in its Class 4A Division II opener on Friday night, rolling up 330 yards on the ground and coming up with four interceptions on the way to a 35-10 victory at home over Phoenix Moon Valley.

Queen Creek (8-3), the No. 4 seed, earned another home game in next week's quarterfinals and will face Phoenix Greenway.

"We have some things to prove next week, and we need to maintain our focus," LeBlanc said.

Queen Creek was focused on grinding it out on the ground against Moon Valley.

Queen Creek built a 14-3 halftime lead with 174 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing touchdowns, the first on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Richie Edwards in the first quarter and a 5-yard run by Jake Goddard with 3:02 left in the half.

Marqus Martinez had a strong first half for Queen Creek, picking up 88 yards on the ground, but suffered a bruised shoulder late in the first half and did not return.

Goddard and Daniel Morgutia picked up the slack in the second half.

Morgutia had 69 yards and a touchdown in the second half and finished with 82 yards. Goddard had 56 in the second half and finished with 80 yards.

"He (Martinez) is a hard runner, but sometimes you have to modify and adjust," LeBlanc said.

Queen Creek took a 21-3 lead with 4:03 left in the third quarter on a quick 3-yard slant pass from Edwards to Joel Hanson. But Moon Valley pulled to within 21-10 with 8:59 left in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard pass from Marshall Bailey to Rikki McClure.

Moon Valley (5-6) could get no closer as Bailey was forced to throw on virtually every play. He finished with 16 completions out of 35 attempts for 175 yards.