GLENDALE, Ariz. – It took the 15th-ranked OUAZ football team a quarter to get going, but once they broke through the Spirit dominated Arizona Christian for a 47-7 win in Sooner Athletic Conference play at Cactus High School.
 
OUAZ (8-0, 6-0) found little success offensively in the first quarter with just 62 yards and zero points. This is the second consecutive year the Spirit failed to score in the first quarter against Arizona Christian (3-4, 3-2), and those are the only two times in the program's history that has happened.
 
Things changed on the first possession of the second quarter for the Spirit as they went 67 yards on 13 plays to notch the game's first score when Kristopher Ewens carried the ball into the end zone from seven yards out. The fourth-down rush came after ACU was flagged for offsides on an OUAZ field goal attempt and the Spirit decided to go on fourth-and-1.
 
After scoring on that possession, OUAZ would record touchdowns on their next four times with the football and then add a pair of field goals the two possessions after that. They would post 37 points in the second and third quarter combined.
 
The Spirit defense held the Firestorm in check for most of the evening in forcing punts on their first six possessions – minus the kneel down at the end of the first half – and 10 times overall. ACU only scoring drive came in the third quarter after OUAZ had already built a 27-0 lead.
 
Austin McCullough guided the OUAZ offense to 543 yards of total offense and 28 first downs. He threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns while completing 32 of 56 pass attempts. Richard Montello was his top target with eight receptions for 161 yards and a pair of scores. Jermaine LaFleur and Kavon Gardner also had receiving touchdowns.
 
Ewens ran for a school-record 195 yards on 21 carries and that second-quarter touchdown. His 9.3 yards per rush average included an OUAZ season-long run of 54 yards. He became just the second player in team history to record 100 yards rushing in consecutive games following his 140-yard outing last week.
 
OUAZ converted 11 of 18 on third-down and also converted both of their fourth-down attempts. The Spirit were also 6 of 6 in the red zone with four touchdowns.
 
The Spirit held ACU to 242 yards of offense and 14 first downs. While they weren't able to force any turnovers for the first time this season, OUAZ did tally four sacks while making eight tackles-for-loss. The Firestorm finished 4 of 15 on third-down.
 
Christian Viville tied for the team lead with nine total tackles while picking up 1.5 sacks and two tackles-for-loss. Justin Barnett also made nine tackles. Marcus Farria and Christian Foote tallied one sack each and Maverick Bradford added one-half sack.
 
Special teams played another key role in victory for the Spirit. Along with the two John Williams field goals of 31 and 35 yards, Foote blocked a punt that was returned by Donald Stokes Jr. 20 yards for a touchdown. Austin Bohn averaged 51. 0 yards on two punts with both ending inside the 20-yardline, including a 54-yard kick that was downed at the ACU 6-yardline.
 
With two games left in the regular season, OUAZ can clinch the first Sooner Athletic Conference title in program history with a win over Lyon College when they host the Scots at Spirit Field on Saturday, November 2 at 7 p.m.