Gilbert uses big plays to cruise past Gray Collegiate

Gilbert junior quarterback Tyler Thomas ran for 93 yards and one touchdown and threw for an additional 147 yards and another score to lead Gilbert to a 28-14 victory over Gray Collegiate Friday night in the opening Battle on the Bluff.

Thomas threw a 48-yard touchdown strike to Ray Baston to open the scoring. He later added a 59-yard scamper for a score.

Gilbert also scored on a 65-yard interception return by Sam Kyzer in the second quarter.

Gray Collegiate quarterback Bryce Fields threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, a 25-yarder to Brandon Carroway and 65 yards to Chylon Thomas.

TURNING POINT

Gilbert led 14-7 at the half, but Malik Bright took the second half kickoff 68 yards to the Gray Collegiate 8-yard line. Dai Coleman-Scott scored two plays later and the Indians held at least a two touchdown advantage the rest of the way.

KEY PERFORMERS

Tyler Thomas: The junior quarterback from Gilbert accounted for 240 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.

Erick Harris: Gray Collegiate running back was a workhorse for the War Eagles. He finished with 25 carries for 102 yards.

Sam Kyzer: Gilbert linebacker was the benefit of a solid pass rush when he picked off a deflected pass and raced 65 yards untouched for the score.

OBSERVATIONS

Gilbert has playmakers but needs to stay healthy. The Indians have several guys playing both ways, so they need to get to region play without any major injuries to compete.

Gray Collegiate is a work in progress. The War Eagles are in the second season of varsity football and still face growing pains. Quarterback Bryce Fields is a good one to build around.

THEY SAID IT

“I think we have to do a better job and I think we’re capable. I liked at the end when our offensive line took over and controlled the front. We have to do that until we settle in.” – Gilbert coach Barry Harley

“If we don’t have the turnovers and silly penalties and it’s a whole different game. We can’t do what we did tonight – we have four weeks to get better – in the region and get to where we need to be.” – Harley

“We thought we could do some things against them offensively. But defensively, we gave up three big plays, a double-move, a big run and a kickoff. We had missed opportunities and Gilbert took advantage.” – Gray Collegiate coach Adam Holmes

THREE KEY NUMBERS

35: Gilbert’s offense only ran 35 offensive plays. They had two fumbles that cost them possessions but scored three times offensively

8.6: Gilbert averaged 8.6 yards per play.

61: Number of offensive plays by Gray Collegiate.

HOW THEY SCORED

1st Quarter

G – Ray Baston 48 pass from Tyler Thomas (Zach Kilgore kick) 1:21

2nd Quarter

G – Sam Kyzer 65 interception return (Kilgore kick) 9:57

GC – Brandon Carroway 25 pass from Bryce Fields (Cameron Hanna kick) 0:34

3rd Quarter

G – Dai Coleman-Scott 2 run (Kilgore kick) 11:18

4th Quarter

G – Thomas 59 run (Kilgore kick) 10:28

GC – Chylon Thomas 65 pass from Fields (Hanna kick) 1:27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: GC – Erick Harris 27-106, Brandon Carroway 1-6, Bryce Fields 3-(-16), Duncan Rivers 3-(-2). G – Tyler Thomas 8-93, Dai Coleman-Scott 14-48, Catriez Cook 2-3, Marcus Powell 3-12.

Passing: GC – Fields 13-31-1-242. G – Thomas 5-8-0-147

Receiving: GC: Carroway 4-94, Chylon Thomas 5-115, Justin Mack 2-13, Ayden Fields 2-20. G – Ray Baston 2-59, Brett Duncan 1-41, Malik Bright 2-47

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 9:22 PM.