Sam Aguirre is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesquite High School for AZPreps365.com

GILBERT - Senior quarterback and defensive back Eltorna Gant threw for 393 passing yards and three touchdowns and also had one rushing TD Friday night, leading Vista Grande to a 52-7 win over Mesquite. Gant also intercepted two passes.

“There's still a lot more we can do,” Gant said. “I think we could've scored more. We just gotta get better and watch film.”

Senior running back Fernando Moya has a close relationship with his quarterback.

“I’ve known Fatty (Gant) my whole life,” Moya said. “We played Pee-Wee (football) together, so the chemistry has been there forever.”

The Spartans defense set the tone for the game, forcing five interceptions. On the first play of the game, Gant came up with an interception. Trailing 12-0 in the second quarter, the Wildcats drove the ball to the Spartans' 4-yard line. Vista Grande shut that down as senior defensive back Brenden Hunt came up with an interception on a goal-line pass.

Moya scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion for Vista Grande. He started the scoring with a 5-yard rushing TD with 4:27 in the first quarter to put the Spartans up 6-0. He also caught a 23-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the second quarter to give Vista Grande a 28-0 halftime lead.

Moya credited the offense as a whole.

“A lot of it had to do with my offensive line blocking as well as they did,” Moya said. “For my receiving touchdown, Fatty (Gant) just put it on me and I caught it.”

Vista Grande coach Jon Roberts was proud of the team’s ability to execute.

“We are a running team,” Roberts said. “The last couple of weeks, we've been facing the same defense so teams figure out how to play us. We've really been working on our passing game to keep defenses honest.”

The Wildcats’ only score of the game came with 9:19 in the fourth quarter. Junior safety Isaiah Durden recovered a fumble from a backwards pass and took it for a 97-yard touchdown.

Mesquite coach Vance Miller was proud of the team after losing so many players to injuries.

“We're fortunate that these guys love each other,” Miller said. “They have each other's backs and they're still grinding. They're not checking out.”

Roberts is looking forward to the playoffs.

“It'll be our first time back in 10 years,” Roberts said. “This game also was a milestone for our program because it's the first time we've had winning seasons for four years straight. That's just credit to the support from our community, but more so to our coaching staff.”

“I think we're for sure a playoff contending team,” Moya said. “Next week we play Arcadia, which is a good school, but I believe we can take it. We're gonna show you something in the playoffs when we make it.”

Vista Grande (6-2,2-1) will continue regional play next Friday at 7 p.m. in a home game against Arcadia (8-0,3-0).

Mesquite (1-7,0-3) will host Arizona College Preparatory (7-1,3-0) next Friday at 7 p.m.