As Red Mountain's opponents get better each week, so do the Mountain Lions. 
Friday night was the latest example, as Red Mountain pulled out a dramatic,16-14 win over East Valley Region foe American Leadership Academy Queen Creek in a battle between 6A's last two unbeaten schools.
Red Mountain kicker Brandon Gallegos connected on a 40-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the game, capping a dramatic finish in which both teams made big plays. The win also exacted a bit of revenge for the Lions, who fell to ALA-QC last year 17-14 on a last second field goal.

More importantly for Red Mountain (7-0, 3-0), notching its seventh win almost assures itself a spot in the Open division playoffs regardless of what happens in the final three weeks. The Lions strength of schedule is accumulating nearly exponentially. Their most recent wins gave Highland and now ALA-QC (6-1, 0-1) their first losses. Red Mountain's final three opponents are a combined 18-3. Last year, Hamilton qualified for the Open with a 7-3 record.

Not that Red Mountain has any plans of slowing down. With each win the Lions grow incresingly confident, especially finding ways to win in the fourth quarter.

"This team has confidence, and they're just real calm under those situations," Red Mountain coach Kyle Enders said afterwards.
When asked about Lopez's performance, Enders quickly responded, "calm, cool and collected." 

if Lopez has not been considered as a player of the year candidate yet, that should change after Friday night's performance. He threw for 202 yards on 17 of 29 pass attempts, which included a 70-yard scoring strike to Bode Wagner on the first play of the second quarter. On Red Mountain's next possession, Lopez used his legs to carve through ALA-QC's defense for a 75-yard touchdown run, as the Mountain Lions built a 13-0 lead.

How it Happened

After Lopez and Wagner's big scoring plays, the Patriots were down but not out. With a 13-0 deficit midway through the second quarter, they went to work with their rushing attack with the 1-2 punch of Brandon Brown and Bobby Nesbit. ALA-QC's offense finally putting a complete drive together late in the second quarter, culminating in a two-yard touchdown run from Brown. Red Mountain led 13-7 at halftime, and both defenses tightened up in the second half.

ALA-QC would eventually take a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter when Boe Sparks caught a Crew Dannel pass over the middle and broke a tackle that sprung him free for a 37-yard score.  

There was still 7:27 left in the game, but the Patriots defense continued putting the clamps on Lopez and the Lions. 

A few minutes later on a fourth down play, Lopez threw his first interception of the season. Tillman Mullenaux stepped in front of a sideline pass, returning to Red Mountain's 31-yard line. It seemed as if ALA-QC was going to pull off the comeback win.

Defense and 2 minutes

Red Mountain's defense came up huge, driving the Patriots back seven yards and forcing a turnover on downs. The Lions still had life and Lopez had another shot, taking over on their own 38-yard line with no timeouts and 1:54 left to play.
The senior went 3-5 on the drive, with the most crucial completion being the last one before Gallegos kick. On a third and 10 from ALA's 32, Lopez rolled to his left before connecting with King Robinson for nine yards on a perfectly timed throw and perfectly executed route. Robinson was tightroping the sideline, enabling him to get out of bounds. The nine yards got Gallegos in range, and the stoppage of clock allowed Red Mountain's kicking team to set up and execute the field goal without panic or rush. 

Lopez praised his teammates for the victory. 

"I trust my defense. After that win I think we have the best defense in the state," Lopez said. "With the interception I just had to bounce back.My O-line did our thing...we had to run a little two minute drill, and that's what we practiced all week...I'm just really proud of our team right now. (ALA) has a great defense, and I feel like our O-line did amazing...they stopped the blitz."

Up Next

The Patriots still control their destiny for a fourth straight Open appearance. They host Highland (6-1) next week.
"What a great game tonight" ALA-Queen Creek coach Rich Edwards said afterword. "I like how we fought back it just didn't be our way."

Red Mountain travels to Queen Creek High (6-1).