Greenway knocks off Queen Creek

With his team's season on the line, Phoenix Greenway head coach Mike Brown never hesitated to make the gutsiest call of the season.

Instead of kicking the potential game-tying extra point in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, Brown decided to let his best player decide his team's fate.

Senior quarterback Greg Walton rolled out and threw a strike to Ronnie Sellers in the end zone for the two-point conversion that defeated Queen Creek 22-21 Friday in a Class 4A Division II state quarterfinal playoff game at Queen Creek.

"Before we scored, I told the coaches we were going to go for two," Brown said. "We couldn't stop (Queen Creek) and they had the momentum. I wanted to get that back and when it comes down to it, we want the ball in Greg's hands."

As for Sellers, the junior receiver was targeted only once all game before making the game-winning grab.

"It feels great that coach had the confidence in me to call that play," Sellers said. "At first, I didn't think the play would work because they had good coverage but when Greg rolled out I saw an opening and he found me."

Queen Creek (8-4) made things interesting until the final whistle. It started its final drive on its own 1-yard line with no timeouts, completing seven straight passes to force a 42-yard field goal attempt with seconds left. But junior kicker D.J. Lechner missed wide left to seal Greenway's amazing victory.

Tied 7-7 coming out of the half, Queen Creek coach Curt LeBlanc made a gutsy call himself, opting for an onside kick to start the third quarter. The unsuccessful kick was recovered by Greenway.

Greenway's defense, which struggled most of the night, forced the game's biggest turnover with under three minutes left in the third quarter when it recovered a fumble deep inside Queen Creek territory at the 5-yard line. The costly giveaway led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Chase Harpole, tying the game at 14-14.

Fifth-seed Greenway (10-2) will now face top-seed Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep next Friday at Phoenix North Canyon in the 4A-II semifinals.