Mountain View Dominates Queen Creek 36-15 Behind Explosive Offense and Stifling Defense

October 2, 2026

MESA, Arizona: Mountain View delivered one of its strongest performances of the season Friday night, defeating No. 18 Queen Creek 36-15 at Mountain View High School.

The No. 8 ranked Toros entered the matchup at 3 and 2 after a narrow 21-19 victory over Mesa the previous week. Queen Creek came in at 2 and 3 and ranked No. 18 in Arizona. Mountain View left the field with its fourth win of the season and another statement victory against a highly ranked opponent.

The Toros controlled the game on both sides of the football. Mountain View built a 29-7 advantage by the end of the third quarter and never allowed Queen Creek to mount a comeback. 

Quarterback Brayden Merwin was at the center of the offensive attack. The junior accounted for four touchdowns, rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns while adding 118 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Merwin averaged 7.3 yards per carry and continued what has been an impressive season statistically.

Running back Coy Bodily also played a major role in the victory, rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown. His production helped Mountain View maintain balance and keep Queen Creek from focusing entirely on Merwin.

When asked what was clicking offensively, Merwin credited the players around him and the coaching staff.

“The line did their job all night giving me and my RB Coy Bodily great opportunities all night. Credit to the coaches for the amazing gameplan,” Mountain View starting quarterback Brayden Merwin said in a postgame interview with Sharp Shooter Media.

While the offense consistently found answers, the Mountain View defense completely changed the game.

The Toros recorded seven sacks, three interceptions and five pass deflections, consistently disrupting Queen Creek and limiting the Bulldogs’ ability to sustain drives. The pressure up front created opportunities for the secondary, while the secondary capitalized when those opportunities came.

Mountain View’s seven sacks were led by Slade Foster with two, while Ivan Valenzuela, Emmett Hawks, Tristan Willis and Reed Williams each recorded one. 

Valenzuela made one of the defense’s biggest individual plays with an interception while also recording a sack. The senior outside linebacker was one of three Mountain View players recognized as a Player of the Game following the victory.

“Our defensive lines ability to shut down Queen Creeks run game and the whole defense combining for 7 sacks really gave us momentum and opened up opportunities for our secondary to make plays and fly around the field and give our offense opportunities to put points on the board,” Mountain View starting outside linebacker Ivan Valenzuela said in a postgame interview with Sharp Shooter Media.

The performance was especially important coming off Mountain View’s close victory over Mesa. The Toros had won their previous game by only two points, but against Queen Creek they established control early and maintained it throughout the night.

The victory also gave Mountain View its second consecutive win and improved the Toros to 4 and 2 on the season. Queen Creek dropped to 2 and 4. 

Friday’s matchup was a non region game for Mountain View. The Toros will now have additional time to prepare before beginning their region schedule against Red Mountain on October 16. Mountain View and Red Mountain are both members of the 6A East Valley region. 

Mountain View entered the night ranked No. 8 in Arizona 6A and left with another convincing win over a ranked opponent. With Merwin continuing to produce at quarterback, Bodily providing a strong rushing presence and the defense creating seven sacks and multiple takeaways, the Toros showed they can win games in multiple ways as the season moves toward region play.