Isaiah Newcombe, Casteel show ‘who runs Queen Creek’ with victory over Bulldogs

The game seemingly promised plenty of offensive fireworks, but in the end, it was the defenses that shined brightest in the Colts' 12-7 win.

Even before No. 7 Casteel and No. 4 Queen Creek met on the football field for the first time Friday night, the rivalry had taken on its own intensity.

Since Casteel started its football program in 2015, the Colts had always been a classification or two below the Bulldogs and, as Casteel receiver Isaiah Newcombe noted in a postgame interview, had seen several players transfer to the older, more established program.

“We had to go and show who runs Queen Creek,” the UCLA-bound senior said.

At least on this night, Queen Creek belonged to the Colts, who built a 12-0 lead and held on for a 12-7 victory when Isaiah’s younger brother, freshman Jeremiah, intercepted a pass in the end zone as time expired to set off a wild celebration.

On the other sideline, Bulldogs coach Joe Germaine could only tip his cap.

“I give a lot of credit to them. They played really well on defense and caused us to make mistakes,” Germaine said.

“We’re very disappointed. I looked at the film, and there were a few things we could have done better that would have given us a better chance to win.”

The game seemingly promised plenty of offensive fireworks, but in the end, it was the defenses that shined brightest. The Colts harassed Queen Creek junior quarterback Devin Brown (who transferred from Casteel last year) all evening, recording six sacks and 12 hurries and forcing two intentional grounding penalties.

Junior Shakaun Bowser had two sacks and four hurries, and Jeremiah’s first interception of the game set up Dane Christensen’s second touchdown pass to Dominic Digian to put the Colts up 12-0 late in the third. 

The Bulldogs answered with a quick drive capped by a 27-yard pass from Brown to Davey Morales, then stopped Casteel twice on downs deep in their territory — the second time at the Queen Creek 3 with 43 seconds left, setting up the final drama.

“I was happy with the effort our defense played with all night,” Germaine said. “Casteel is a really talented football team, and I was thrilled with how our defense played with heart.

“I just wish we’d executed better on offense. We just couldn’t capitalize as much as we needed to.”

— René Ferrán

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