Courtney Dwaileebe is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Christian High School for AZPreps365.com

The Valley Christian Trojans won on the road, defeating the Bourgade Catholic Golden Eagles 57-12 on Friday night in Phoenix.

Valley Christian (7-1) started out the game recovering a fumble by Bourgade Catholic and it wasn’t long until the Trojans put 8 on the scoreboard after a successful two-point conversion.

"Honestly, the biggest challenge is always starting the game,” assistant coach Tyler Fridley said. “We wanted to come out and set a tone early on.”

Having found their rhythm early in the game, the Trojans’ senior quarterback Gunnar Link and his offensive unit kept marching down the field, going into halftime 36-0.

"I have got to give a huge shoutout to my receivers, obviously, and my offensive line," Link said. “I really can’t do anything without them. Also, our defense was really standing out tonight.”

Since Valley Christian established a 43-0 lead over Bourgade Catholic by the end of the third quarter, the coaches decided to take Link out.

Bourgade Catholic (0-7) not only lost the game, but it lost quite a few starting players in the process, which left the team weaker. The Golden Eagles’ failure to control turnovers was another factor in their defeat.

While Link threw one interception, the Trojans’ defense caused three turnovers, blocked two punts, and shut down two out of the Golden Eagles’ three onside kick attempts. However, by the time Bourgade recovered its onside kick, it was too late.

Coming out of this big win, Fridley said he still believes there are areas the Trojans need to work on that will be crucial when heading into the playoffs.

“This week in practice we are going to work on little mistakes,” Fridley said. “We want to make sure we are executing each play we practice. It is so easy to gloss over those little mistakes in a win like this, but there are things we won’t be able to get away with in bigger games.”

Junior running back and linebacker Luke Snyder said his team prepares for home and away games the same, knowing that every team is going to come ready to play.

“We know these teams are going to battle, so we prepare at practice no matter what,” Snyder said. “We have had a lot of injuries with starters, so our depth is not very great. However, I think as a team, we were able to overcome that pretty well.”

With more fans in the away section cheering on Valley Christian than fans there for Bourgade Catholic, they already had a home-like advantage.

“We really appreciate all of the support we get, even for a game that is a 40-minute drive from our school,” Link said. “I know it means a lot to me, and our whole team.”

For now, the Trojans’ are on fall break and will be able to rest as they go into their bye week.

Looking ahead, Valley Christian will travel again for its next game before going back home for its last game of the regular season. First, to Payson to face the Longhorns on Friday, October 20. Next, at home against Ben Franklin on Friday, October 27.