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Queen Creek senior running back Gavin Danielson rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, to lead the Bulldogs to a 20 – 14 come-from-behind victory at Desert Mountain in the opener for both teams.
Danielson waited patiently for two years to get his opportunity to be “the guy” in the Bulldogs’ rushing attack. His chance finally came last Friday night and he took full advantage of it, proving he can be as great as the running backs he played behind while waiting his turn.
“All the linemen’s hard work, beginning with spring football, showed up tonight,” Danielson told the Ledger after last Friday’s win. “They knew what to do and I told them right before the first play in overtime, ‘we’re winning this thing, (we’re) not losing’ and two plays later we scored.”
For a while it appeared the Bulldogs, a top-ten team in several preseason rankings, might suffer their first season-opening loss in almost a decade, due in part to a turnover by Danielson.
Queen Creek trailed 14 – 7 in the fourth quarter and appeared to be driving for a game-tying score when Danielson fumbled, thwarting the Bulldogs’ scoring chance.
An interception by senior linebacker Chase Thomas on the Wolves ensuing possession gave the Bulldogs another opportunity to tie the game and this time Danielson delivered, dashing 26-yards for his first touchdown of the season and the game. Zach Glaess’ PAT tied the game at 14 – 14 with 5:46 remaining.
“After that (fumble) I put it behind me,” Danielson said later, refusing to view his score as redemption. “I didn’t care about the fumble; I knew we were still going to win this (game).”
The Bulldogs had a chance to win it in regulation. After forcing a three-and-out, the Bulldogs moved the ball while running the clock down, which setup a potential game-winning field goal attempt. But Glaess’ kick was only inches wide, forcing the game into overtime.
Overtime rules in high school give each team at least one set of four downs to score from the 10-yard line. Overtime continues until one team scores and the other doesn’t. Starting on defense in overtime is widely considered an advantage.
Queen Creek won the coin toss in overtime and elected to go on defense first.
The Bulldogs defense, which was challenged all night by Desert Mountain’s prolific passing attack, bowed it muscles, forcing the Wolves to attempt a field goal, which they missed.
With a chance to win the game with any score, Danielson ran in the game-winning touchdown from 10 yards out on the Bulldogs’ second play from scrimmage.
It was the Bulldogs’ eighth-straight season-opening victory, albeit not the prettiest.
“It’s important we had a game like this early on,” Bulldogs’ head coach Travis Schureman said afterwards. “We kind of found out what the character of our team is.”
The Bulldogs overcame adversity throughout the game, trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over, and committing a few untimely penalties.
“We did somethings that were uncharacteristic,” Schureman said. “But it was good for us fight back and get through it.”
“We could’ve easily just quit,” he continued. “But our defense came out and had a great turnover, then Gavin scores to tie it.”
Although not their best performance, the Bulldogs had more than a few bright spots in the game, beginning with new quarterback Tyler Bloom’s first touchdown pass of the season.
The senior signal caller connected with receiver Ian Woods on a 43-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 7 – 0 lead midway through the second quarter.
“We tried to take what they were giving us,” Schureman said. “I thought we did some good things in the throwing game.”
Desert Mountain immediately answered on its next possession, tying the game on a short touchdown pass from Austin Nuessle to Doug Shapiro.
Queen Creek ended the first half with a field-goal attempt, but it was blocked by the Wolves.
Each team had only one possession in the third quarter, which was dominated by Desert Mountain. The Wolves scored a go-ahead touchdown near the end of the third before the heroics of Danielson and the Bulldogs’ defense during the fourth quarter and overtime.
“To hold that team to 14 points, the defense did a great job,” Schureman said. “(The players) competed and those three plays in overtime, (Desert Mountain) only moved the ball two yards and it was great to see.”
The Bulldogs will play at Division I powerhouse Hamilton on Friday night. The Huskies, perhaps the Bulldogs’ most formidable regular-season opponent, ran roughshod over Ironwood Ridge last Friday, 44 – 7.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Bulldogs prepare to kickoff the 2015 season against Desert Mountain last Friday night.
Queen Creek defeated Desert Mountain in overtime last Friday night, 20 – 14.
Zach Glaess (21) boots the opening kickoff against Desert Mountain.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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