Queen Creek QB stands tall in defeat

October 3, 2014 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365


                      (Queen Creek quarterback Bryce Dobbs threw three touchdown passes against Saguaro. Photo by Jose Garcia/aia365.com)

It takes a lot of confidence for a pocket passer to stiff-arm a defender, and in this case it wasn't just an ordinary defender.

It was Saguaro's Christian Kirk, the state’s top recruit. Queen Creek quarterback Bryce Dobbs knew it was Kirk when he extended his right arm Thursday in the third quarter, but the objective wasn’t to make Kirk look bad.

It was to gain yards, and Dobbs accomplished that on his was away to a 16-yard gain and a first down in a touchdown drive that Dobbs helped orchestrate. At 212-pounds, Dobbs isn’t easy to take down.

The same can be said about Queen Creek, which Saguaro struggled to pull away from until the fourth quarter of its 34-18 victory. Saguaro learned on the road that Queen Creek is a disciplined bunch and not just a running team.

Queen Creek’s 2,000-yard rusher from 2013, Weston Barlow, returned from an ankle injury Thursday, but it was the play of Dobbs that stood out in a matchup that seemed to heavily favor Saguaro. Saguaro, the favorite in the Division III state title race, hadn’t allowed a passing touchdown during its first 21 quarters of play in the 2014 season.

With Saguaro loading the box Thursday, Dobbs kept his team in the game by throwing three scoring passes against Saguaro.

“Even from last year to this year, his (Dobbs) confidence has grown,” Queen Creek coach Travis Schureman said. “His leadership is tremendous. We were able to do some things throwing the ball today, which is encouraging.”

That confidence was on display during a scoring drive that brought Queen Creek within 10 points of Saguaro at the start of the fourth quarter.

Not only did Dobbs push away Kirk on that drive, Dobbs also helped convert two fourth downs after connecting with his receivers. On the second fourth down play, Bailey Delozier did a good job of adjusting to the flight of the ball to make a 19-yard touchdown catch.

“I think I did pretty good today,” Dobbs said. “There’s some things I can definitely do better, but overall I think I had a pretty good game.”

After the touchdown to Delozier, Saguaro then went three and out, giving Queen Creek another chance to cut into the lead.

But Dobbs threw an interception on Queen Creek’s next drive, allowing Saguaro to eventually score a touchdown.

“I had a guy open, but I just threw the ball behind him and the defender made a play on it,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs had a gash underneath his chin that was caused by his chinstrap after being tackled in the game.

But, despite the blood and defeat, Dobbs still stood tall against Saguaro.

Saguaro's head coach, Jason Mohns, is scheduled to talk about Thursday's victory during the AZPreps365 radio show on Saturday between 9-11 a.m. on 98.7 FM.