Pure dominance.

Those two words are almost a perfect descriptor for what took place in ALA-Queen Creek’s 41-8 win over its rival Queen Creek on Wednesday night, which was a “gratifying” victory for head coach Rich Edwards, considering the Patriots’ rough start to the season.

“Frankly, we’ve told our guys all year at 0-5, ‘Hey, we got to keep grinding,’” Edwards said. “‘We got to trust our process, trust what we’re doing. We’ve had success in the past,’ and they did that… It’s really gratifying to see that for the boys. Put faith in what we’re doing, trusted us and kept working hard, and to see that against a really good football team, that’s very satisfying.”

Entering the year, ALA-QC had to find a way to replace almost every single starter on its defense, and throughout its 0-5 start, struggles were apparent. 

The Patriots hadn’t come away with an interception all season long.

Until Friday night.

The Patriots snagged six.

Edwards was proud.

“We thought the first five games, the gauntlet, that if we could grow up and mature during that first five games, we’d be all right, and I think we did,” Edwards said.

ALA-QC put up 40-plus points for the second week in a row, the first time the Patriots have done that since the third and second-to-last week of the 2023 season, which is primarily thanks to one primary target that the Patriots now have available to them: 2026 wide receiver Khali Bender, who had two touchdowns in the win.

“(Bender’s) another threat, a deep threat that we really didn’t have, which is nice, (he) can go up and get the ball, really big for us,” Edwards said.

Edwards said a win against a team like Queen Creek can help the Patriots as they finish out the season.

“Something that beating the Queen Creek Bulldogs does is give you confidence,” Edwards said. “You know that’s a good team. You know they’re going to finish strong and do well, and so that’s really, as much as anything, gives us confidence going into the next three. We got a tough one next week with Mountain View, but it just keeps stacking that confidence.”

Box Score 

NOTE: View any scoring highlight by clicking on the corresponding bullet point.

First Quarter

• 2026 RB Bobby Nesbit (ALA-QC) rushed for a 1-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. (7-0, 6:40)
• 2026 QB Britt DeWitt (ALA-QC) pass complete to 2026 WR Khalil Bender (ALA-QC) for a 33-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. (14-0, 2:06)

Second Quarter

• 2026 QB Britt DeWitt (ALA-QC) pass complete to 2026 WR Khalil Bender (ALA-QC) for a 19-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. (21-0, 10:12)
• 2026 QB Britt DeWitt (ALA-QC) pass complete to 2027 ATH Stetson Agne (ALA-QC) for a 23-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. (28-0, 4:41)
• 2028 QB Sawyer Hales (Queen Creek) pass intercepted and returned by 2026 DL Rex Curtis (ALA-QC) for a 42-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. (35-0, 1:40)

Third Quarter

• 2028 QB Sawyer Hales (Queen Creek) rushed for a 1-yard touchdown. 2-point conversion is no good. (35-6, 6:50)

Fourth Quarter

• Queen Creek safety. (35-8, 11:54)
• 2026 QB Britt DeWitt (ALA-QC) pass complete to 2027 TE Talan Scott (ALA-QC) for a 4-yard touchdown. Extra point is no good. (41-8, 6:33)

TEAM	1ST QTR	2ND QTR	3RD QTR	4TH QTR	FINAL
ALA-QC	14	21	0	6	41
QC	0	0	6	2	8

The Standouts

2026 ALA-QC Wide Receiver Khalil Bender

Safe to say Bender is settling into his new school. He showed out in front of some of his future coaches at NAU, who were in attendance to watch Bender play, as he racked in two touchdowns and played most of the game on both sides of the ball. 

2026 ALA-QC Defensive Back Bryce Devlin

Devlin opened and closed the interception account in the Patriots’ win. He had snagged the first and last interceptions of the night for the Patriots, making him the only player to have multiple interceptions in a game this season for ALA-QC. The junior has stepped up for the Patriots this season, with the fifth-most tackles on the team, 20, heading into the game against Queen Creek and a blocked field goal.

Key Plays

• ALA-Queen Creek’s defense set the tone from the very beginning of the game, something they have not done for most of the season. Immediately after scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, the Patriots’ defense forced Queen Creek to go three-and-out on its opening offensive drive.

• 2028 Queen Creek Quarterback Sawyer Hales, who started his sixth straight game due to 2026 quarterback and Clemson commit Tait Reynolds being out with an injury, was quickly driving the Bulldogs’ offense down the field late in the first quarter. As time was expiring, Hales underthrew his intended wide receiver, resulting in the first of six interceptions he would throw in the game.

• The highlight of the game was when 2026 defensive lineman Rex Curtis scored on a pick-six, and the public address announcer went over the speaker and called him “Mr. Uncrustable.”

• ALA-QC and Queen Creek had a stretch from the 4:40 mark in the second quarter to the 7:39 mark in the third quarter during which the two teams combined for five interceptions on five drives.

• After getting the ball back in the fourth quarter because of a safety, Queen Creek had the ball inside its own territory on third down, and like most of the game had gone, the Bulldogs weren’t able to make anything positive out of it. 2026 linebacker Ryder Stowell sacked Hales. Queen Creek went for it on fourth-and-16 but couldn’t convert. The defensive stop by ALA-QC led to the Patriots’ last touchdown of the game.

• Queen Creek blocked a punt and recovered it deep inside ALA-QC territory, but the offensive drive was ruined after Hales threw his fifth interception of the game.

• Admitting defeat, Queen Creek took a knee on the last play of the game.

Soundoff

ALA-Queen Creek head coach Rich Edwards on the pick-six by 2026 defensive lineman Rex Curtis: “I’ve never seen him run so far or so fast, but that was exciting for him… to see that something like that happened his senior year is pretty fun.”

2026 ALA-Queen Creek quarterback Britt DeWitt on if having a wide receiver as talented as 2026 wide receiver Khalil Bender takes a little bit of the pressure off of him: “It’s just having another player like (Bender) who’s able to make the play no matter what, right? Believing in him is like, ‘Hey, he can make a play when I need him to make a play.’ So in a game that may be closer, maybe a two-minute drill. I know Khalil will be there, and I know all my receivers will be there, but since we’re talking about Khalil, Khalil will be there, too.”

2026 ALA-Queen Creek quarterback Britt DeWitt on how much the win boosts the team as the season goes on: “I feel like this game, I mean, we knew we had it all along, but this game showed ourselves, and it showed the city who we are as (ALA-Queen Creek) football, and I think that was our first game playing real Patriot football.”

2026 ALA-Queen Creek wide receiver Khalil Bender on how his relationship with 2026 ALA-Queen Creek quarterback Britt DeWitt has continued to grow: “It’s been good. I know I came in in December, we started throwing right away to get our connection going, and it’s been great working with him these last eight months.”