Harris Hicks is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Peoria High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX- Peoria High School defeated west Valley rival Greenway High by a score of 41-7 on the road Friday. The main standouts were the men in the trenches. Peoria’s offensive line only allowed one quarterback pressure the entire game and zero sacks. 

“They dominated as a group,” said Peoria coach Will Babb. “They’ve been kicked around this year, but they’ve bounced back through adversity and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Having a clean pocket to work with the entire game allowed Peoria quarterback Josh Holiday to flourish. The sophomore phenom completed 10 passes on 14 attempts for 171 yards and two touchdowns with a near-perfect 153.8 passer rating. 

“Josh is a good kid and he works his tail off,” said Babb. “He’s grown so much since last year.” 

Although Josh Holiday didn’t quite have a perfect passer rating, his fellow sophomore teammate, Jalen Dupree, did. 

On a trick play in the second quarter, with Peoria down 7-3, Holiday threw a backward lateral to Dupree, which he threw right on target to a wide open Isaac Moreno for a 69-yard touchdown. 

That was the only pass Dupree threw, going one for one for 69 yards and a touchdown with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Dupree also had a rushing touchdown of his own early in the second half. 

“He’s going to carry on the tradition of good running backs at Peoria," said Peoria running backs coach Larry Allen. “He’s got a lot of talent.”

Moreno didn’t have too shabby of a game himself, catching seven passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. “Greenway was running their mouths," said Moreno, "so I had to shut them up."

Standing 5’8”, what Moreno lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and confidence. “I think I could outrun a bunch of NFL receivers,” said Moreno. “You put me in a track race with Mike Evans, I’d win.” 

Peoria Football Team awaits second-half kickoff at sideline. (Harris Hicks/AZPreps365)

The Panthers also dominated in the defensive trenches. Peoria limited Greenway’s quarterback, Deavon Felix, to just six for 15 passing for 50 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per pass attempt. 

It wasn’t a rarity when Felix was forced to make a throw while under duress. The senior was under pressure on eight of his 15 passes (53.3%) on Friday night. 

Among those generating pressure was linebacker Sergei Chagolla. The Peoria senior was all over the place defensively, recording a sack, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit along with four quarterback pressures, and even a fumble recovery for a touchdown. 

Chagolla remembered his sack clearly, but not in the way most would expect. “I was thinking about Good Will Hunting,” Chagolla said. “In my mind, I was the janitor solving the math problem, and before you know it, the quarterback was down right by me. It’s a really good movie.” 

Later on, during his fumble recovery in the end zone on a muffed punt that extended Peoria’s lead 41-7 in the fourth quarter, the mind of Sergei Chagolla was still everywhere except the game. “I was thinking of that scene in Step Brothers where they were sitting there watching cops," said Chagolla. "And then the part where Dale was like Hey, did you touch my drum set!’” And then I scored.” 

It wasn’t much different in the passing game for the Demons as it was in the rushing game. Greenway’s starting running back, Ivan Andrade, acquired just 68 rushing yards on 21 carries, averaging a lackluster 3.3 yards per carry. 

“I thought we executed well,” said Babb. “Both sides of the ball, we played well.” 

Peoria advances to 4-5 overall and 3-0 in league play, as Greenway drops to 5-4 and 1-2 in league play. The Panthers will continue their playoff push next week at home against Cactus High School.