Ty Thompson, Mesquite get into another shootout; defense puts finishing touches on win over ALA-Queen Creek

Thompson was 24 of 36 for 465 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 98 yards and two scores in the Wildcats' 60-42 win.

Mesquite didn’t have much time to dwell on its wild Week 2 loss to Sunrise Mountain. The defending 4A champion had to open region play against last year’s 3A champion, American Leadership Academy-Queen Creek.

Once again, the Wildcats found themselves in another high-scoring shootout. They led 34-28 at halftime, fell behind briefly 35-34, then pulled away for a 60-42 victory.

“Because of how fast our offense scores, our defense is on the field for a long time,” said Mesquite coach Scott Hare. “We just stay the course, do what we do, and try to win in the fourth quarter. On Friday, our defense stepped up and won us the game late.”

After Oregon commit Ty Thompson hit Eric Lira for the go-ahead score, the Wildcats forced a fumble that Thompson converted into a long touchdown connection with Andrew Morris.

The Wildcats then got two defensive scores — an interception return by Lira and a fumble return by Morgan — to put the game away.

Their big three of Thompson, Lira and Morgan was dominant in the victory, overcoming a big night by Patriots senior Trae Moshier (107 yards, three touchdowns on 18 carries).

Thompson was 24 of 36 for 465 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 98 yards and two scores. Lira caught five passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns, and Morris had nine catches for 119 yards.

Morris, a junior, also plays middle linebacker for the Wildcats, but he projects as a strong safety or outside linebacker at the next level. He has an offer from New Mexico, and UCLA, Oregon and Iowa State have interest, but Hare believes until they can see him in person, they won’t fully appreciate the improvement to Morris’ game.

“Ty is one of the top guys in the country and garners a lot of the attention, but Andrew is a stud on our team,” Hare said of Morris, who grew an inch to 6-2 and added 20 pounds to his frame in the offseason. 

“He kept his speed while adding that muscle, and he’s now a major cog in our wheel on defense while catching a ton of balls on offense.”

— René Ferrán

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