Score: Casa Grande’s (2-0) offense could not be stopped by Peoria (1-1) in a 35-21 win.

Big plays: It took less than two minutes for Casa Grande’s R.J. Keeton to eat up yards on Peoria’s defense with a short but tough run up the middle for the 7-0 lead.

Peoria’s Cameron Mack put them on the board with a short 9-yard run.

After the half, Peoria gained some momentum with positive yards from Mack and a big connection from quarterback Josh Holiday to Jeremiah Gossett on a 33-yard touchdown reception.

Who stood out: Keeton was the spotlight on the field in Friday's game with a dominant performance, helping Case Grande control of the game. Head coach Jake Barro said he brings toughness to the squad and an edge.

“Even when there is nothing there (Keeton) makes something out of it and finds a way to get positive yards, which helped us,” he said.

Keeton finished with three total touchdowns, including an 8-yard run in the third to improve the lead 28-14, and his final score on a 37-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter.

“They were a good team, but they didn’t come prepared and ran only three men on the defensive line. They couldn’t stop me. The line was blocking amazingly, and I carried the ball through the holes the whole game. They just didn’t make the adjustments,” Keeton said.

The offensive line was productive at creating opportunities for the run game, as well as giving quarterback Angel Flores time to look through progressions and get going with his feet if nothing was available.

Barro said Flores is a field general first and foremost and brings leadership on to the field, which the team needs to be successful.

From the sideline: Barro said to win in a Peoria stadium filled with so much tradition  felt really good.

“They have a lot of tradition here, and we don’t have tradition. We are a new program starting to win and creating some buzz,” he said.

After defeating Sunnyslope in Week 1 and then persevering through a tough Peoria squad, Barro said it felt good to lock down a second win, proving his team is mentally tough.

“We could tell early on that Peoria was trying to take away the pass and prevent Flores from throwing the ball, but when they took one thing away, we went to our ground game,” he explained.

Peoria head coach Will Babb said Casa Grande is one of the top teams with big, fast, athletic and well-coached players.

“You almost have to play perfect against this team, and we didn’t do that,” he said.

Barro said the game felt like a playoff game against a tough opponent, and the mental toughness his team exhibited tonight is something that will help them in the playoffs down the road.

Up next for both teams: Casa Grande (2-0) will travel to Maricopa, and Peoria (1-1) will travel to Ironwood next week.