SURPRISE, ARIZ. – After an early open week, the OUAZ football team returned to its home field to take on Texas College on Saturday night. The Spirit built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, then a 45-12 halftime lead, en route to a 51-26 win over the Steers.

After Grant Furrey caught his first of two touchdown passes just 2:01 into the contest, Jh'dhan Lester would score the next two touchdowns for the Spirit in the first quarter. Furrey would score his second touchdown of the night just over four minutes in to the second quarter, pushing the lead to 35-6.

The Spirit would score the only two touchdowns in the third quarter – a 12-yard catch by Jailen Hammer just 52 seconds into the second half and a Maliki Campbell fumble recovery that was caused by a Corey Floyd Jr. sack. Floyd Jr. led the Spirit with 2.0 sacks, and the defense as a unit had five total sacks.

OUAZ was making plays on the ball all day defensively, finishing with nine tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. When the ball was in the air, Spirit defensive playmakers were able to make eight pass break-ups.

Offensively, the Spirit finished with 555 yards of total offense, averaging nearly seven yards per play. Luke Giron threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns, and completed passes to 11 different receivers.

Da'Vicious Wilson had a great 2024 debut, catching six passes, including one for a 58-yard touchdown. Jaylen Magee finished with 115 yards rushing, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and finishing many runs with punishing hits on defenders.

The Spirit will return to its home field one more time in September, taking on Nelson next Saturday night. Kickoff from Surprise is set for 7 p.m.