Connor Moreno is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert Christian High School for AZPreps365.com

The Gilbert Christian football team finally cooled down as its four-game win streak ended in a 42-27 loss to the rival Valley Christian Trojans on Friday night at Benson Field.

Valley Christian was energized by an invigorating homecoming crowd. And in a game where it seemed the Knights couldn't catch a break, the emotions were apparent following the loss.

An emotional senior defensive lineman, Jesse Morales, reflected on his final game against the Trojans.

“It means a lot especially knowing that (they’re) rivals,” Morales said. “It’s just senior year, you can’t get those (games) back. So it’s tough when you leave your all out there and you can’t go back and do it again.”

Coming off its first loss of the season, Valley Christian (6-1, 2-0) was determined from the start. After forcing a Gilbert Christian punt on the opening drive, Trojan quarterback Gunnar Link found senior receiver Will Bastian for a 79-yard touchdown on the first play of their drive to go up 7-0 two minutes into the first quarter.

The Gilbert Christian defense played a forgettable game. Three of the five offensive touchdowns allowed were for 59 or more yards. This uncharacteristic defensive showing came with a few team-wide mental lapses. The defense was flagged six times for a total of 55 yards and the offense lost two touchdowns and an onside recovery to penalties.

“(Valley Christian) made a lot of great plays in the game that impacted how well we executed,” coach John Carlson said. “We made some mental errors that caused problems as well.”

Two drives into the second quarter, the Knights punched back with a 45-yard touchdown off their patented reverse sweep to sophomore receiver Kamari Stanbury. 

Tied at seven with just over three minutes remaining in the half, Valley Christian responded five plays later with a 59-yard Bastian rushing touchdown at the 1:52 mark.

Gilbert Christian responded with a quality drive. But on what would be the final play of the half, a poorly-snapped Kaleb Powell field goal attempt was blocked and senior Trojan defensive back Carson Tarr ran the ball back nearly 80 yards to go up 21-7 as the half ended.

Valley Christian subsequently started the second half with a three-play touchdown drive, a forced punt and a six-play touchdown drive to extend their lead 35-7.

A much-needed silver lining for Gilbert Christian was found in junior running back Sam Webb who, in his first game back from injury, rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown. Despite the loss, Webb credited his team for their play.

“We had a really good team effort today… (despite) little mental mistakes. That was our best team game by far,” Webb said. “We can be very dynamic and when we can just be together and everybody does their job, we can win the rest of our games.”

Webb encouraged a promising future when he and senior receiver Colby Johnston – who was out with a minor injury – share the field again.

The Knights tacked on three more touchdowns in the second half, but were met with an answer for each one. Though it wasn’t the prettiest of games, Carlson saw this loss as a precursor to improvement. 

“I was encouraged,” Carlson said. “Valley is a very established football program that has had success for a long time. It was an exciting game and there’s a lot that we can learn from it.”

Valley Christian continues 3A Metro East region play against Bourgade Catholic (0-6, 0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Gilbert Christian (4-3, 0-1) enters its bye week and will host those same Golden Eagles Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.