Chase Wyatt leads defense in Colts’ shutout
With just one week remaining in the regular season, Casteel still has a chance to win the 6A Southeast Region and position itself in the new Open Division play-in round.
The Colts remained unbeaten in league play Friday, as the offense scored two touchdowns in the first seven minutes and the defense was on shutdown mode all night in a 27-0 home victory over Queen Creek at Joel Wirth Stadium.
Casteel forced three turnovers on defense and stopped the Bulldogs on downs in three occasions. For the game, the Colts held QCHS to just 153 yards of offense, despite the return of star quarterback Tait Reynolds for Queen Creek. It was the first start for Reynolds, a Clemson commit, since Week 1 due to a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, he left the game late in the third quarter after pulling up early during a 10-yard run.
”I thought our defense was lights out,” Casteel head coach Joe Bushman said. “It’s the most prepared we’ve been. They really executed the game plan well and tackled extremely well and pressured the quarterback.”
It was the first shutout win for the Colts since 2023 (a 51-0 victory over Trevor Browne) and the first time Queen Creek had been blanked since the same year (56-0 vs. Liberty).
The Standouts
Casteel QB Tee Smith
The 6-1, 180-pound junior signal caller was making just his fourth start of the season (transfer from Hamilton). He can move in the pocket and make throws on the run. Smith, a true dual-threat, has that ability to extend plays, making it tougher for secondary players to continue to defend. He completed 12-of-20 passes for 196 yards with two going for big plays (37 and 57 yards). Smith added 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Casteel LB Chase Wyatt
The senior linebacker (pictured at the top of the article) was in on a few big plays in the first half. He intercepted a pass in the second quarter on the first drive which Queen Creek crossed midfield. Wyatt also able to get through holes opened up by the defensive line to get through to the quarterback (1.5 sacks). Reynolds used his mobility to scramble around (11 carries) and Wyatt was often in pursuit and able to bring him down.
Casteel WR Brody Smith
The senior receiver led Casteel in receptions (6) and receiving yards (89). Smith put up big numbers on the Freshman team for the Colts three years ago and he hasn’t stopped. He pulled down a 37-yard catch to set up one of the two scoring drives in the first quarter. He’s 6-2 and 160 pounds and utilizes his speed to beat defenders.
Casteel DL Logan Voss
The junior can play defensive end or tackle and made the first big play of the night recovering a fumble on a QB-RB exchange on the opening snap from scrimmage. The Queen Creek run game was never able to get going and the pressure from the Colts’ D-Line was a big reason why. The Bulldogs ran for just 43 yards (including sack yardage against) on 25 carries.
Queen Creek ATH Jaron Liles
The Bulldogs’ safety and wide receiver is one of the few in the 6A Conference that plays both ways. He’s 6-1, 190 and versatile. A New Mexico commit, Liles is leading Queen Creek in receiving and also came in with 34 tackles on defense. Has a high football IQ, instincts, and toughness.
Every Play Counts
- On the game’s first play, there was a fumble on the quarterback-running back exchange for Queen Creek and Logan Voss was there to recover it at the Bulldogs’ 21-yard line. The offense took advantage of the short field.
- On the next Bulldog drive, Queen Creek faced third-and-long. Chase Wyatt came in with the sack to force a punt.
- A deep pass from Tee Smith to Brody Smith (37 yards) got the Colts’ in the red zone. That led to a second touchdown in the opening quarter.
- Queen Creek had a field position advantage after forcing Casteel to punt from its own 6-yard line. The Bulldogs began at the 35 of the Colts.
- However, Chase Wyatt intercepted a pass to thwart the opportunity for QCHS.
- The best scoring chance of the second quarter was Casteel getting to the 14-yard line. But, the Colts missed a field goal attempt.
- Casteel converted a fourth down (Wyatt Defreitas run) and got down to the 16-yard line in the third quarter. Lachlan Grier got in the backfield after a pitch and then a handoff to force a turnover on downs. However, the Colts used up 6:22 of the quarter and still led 14-0.
- Tee Smith went deep to Troy Jauregui for a 57-yard play that ended at the 1-yard line. That set up another score.
Box Score
Colts 27, Bulldogs 0
| QC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CAS | 14 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
First Quarter
Cast – Tee Smith 1 yard run (kick failed), 10:13
Cast – Riley Hunt 15 yard pass from Smith (Fritzgerald Nicalsse pass from Smith), 5:46
Second Quarter
No Scoring
Third Quarter
Cast – Wyatt Defreitas 1 yard run (kick failed), 1:33
Fourth Quarter
Cast – Max Kane 31 yard run (Nolan Balke kick), 10:59
Team Statistics
| Queen Creek | Casteel | |
| First Downs | 7 | 13 |
| Rushes-Yards | 25-43 | 29-131 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 9-23-2 | 12-20-0 |
| Pass Yards | 110 | 196 |
| Total Yards | 153 | 327 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 9-65 | 7-65 |
Rushing
Queen Creek – Rosson 10-39, Reynolds 11-20, Evans 1-3, Hales 3-(minus 19). Casteel – Defreitas 11-71, Kane 4-31, T. Smith 11-26, Jauregui 1-13, Niclasse 1-(minus 1), Avila 1-(minus 9).
Passing
Queen Creek – Hales 6-14-1, 92 yards, Reynolds 3-9-1, 18 yards. Casteel – T. Smith 12-20-0, 196 yards.
Receiving
Queen Creek – Djassa 2-48, Rosson 2-29, Liles 3-21, Fisher 1-11, Jaekel 1-1. Casteel – B. Smith 6-89, Jauregui 1-57, Avila 2-24, Hunt 2-22, Kane 1-4.
Sound Off
Casteel TE Riley Hunt on Tee Smith’s ability to scramble and extend plays: “He can turn a play that completely goes to crap into something. It really fits well for our team to set up for a touchdown.”
Queen Creek head coach Travis Schureman: “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We get going and we would have silly penalties or do silly things uncharacteristic of what we do late in the season. Kudos and hats off to them. They had a great game plan and they wanted it more than us.”
Casteel LB Chase Wyatt on the energy coming into this one: “Our energy was up compared to other games. This week, we focused on being a shark attack. When one person feeds, all of us feed. We built on each other’s energy. If one person made a play, everybody else was hyped.”
Casteel head coach Joe Bushman on the growth of the defense this season: “Our defensive coordinator, Ethan Swope, and the staff do a great job every week putting the kids in position to be successful. Strong emphasis on fundamentals and tackling. They’re just a very together group.”
Next Week
Queen Creek (5-4 overall, 2-2 6A Southeast Region) finishes the regular season next Friday with a non-region road game at Red Mountain (8-1). The Mountain Lions are in a position to possibly get the No. 4 seed, which would grant them an automatic entry into the Open Division. On Thursday, Red Mountain defeated Highland, 24-17 to extend its win streak to four games. QCHS came into the week as the No. 18 seed and will likely stay there as there is a big gap down to 19. The top 20 teams make the playoffs in the 6A Conference.
Casteel (6-3, 3-0) won at home for the first time this season (was 0-3) and will stay there, playing host to ALA-Queen Creek (4-5, 3-0) next Friday. With both teams unbeaten in region play, that game will decide it. Winner take all. After an 0-5 start, the Patriots’ defense has improved and a few key transfers have become eligible. On Friday night, ALAQC also posted a shutout, defeating Corona del Sol, 31-0. The Patriots’ played a brutal schedule early on and are currently being rewarded for that with a No. 15 seed. If they can get to 12, they’ll make a 5-12 Open Division play-in game. Casteel entered the week at No. 12 and would almost certainly hold on to a ranking at least that high with a victory.
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