Tempe Prep vaulted in to the success category of 2A footballl last year with a 9-3 season and quarterfinal finish. Two games forward in 2011 and the results keep coming.

The Knights used both an extended scoring drive and an interception return for a touchdown in the first half  Thursday night and beat the more established Trojans of Valley Christian for the second straight year, handing the host Trojans a 14-0 defeat in a Division V contest.

Standout defensive back Nathan Hiser, an all-state selection last year as a junior, missed Tempe Prep's opener last week with Bourgade. His presence was needed and felt Thursday with just less than five minutes left in the first half on what proved to be the game's pivotal play.

With Tempe Prep (2-0) clinging to a 7-0 lead, Valley Christian had marched from its 39 to the Knights 26. On third-and-8 from the 26, Trojans sophomore quarterback T.J. Widner threw high to a receiver looking for a first down. Hiser grabbed the errant throw and raced 79 yards for a TD.  A possible march to a tying score turned in to a 14-point swing.  They led 14-0 at that point and stuck to it the rest of the night in a defensive struggle.

"He (Hiser) is such a ball  hawk," Tempe Prep coach Thomas Brittain said. "He had a hamstring injury last week and didn't play. Our offense couldn't sustain much, so that pick-6 was the difference."

Valley Christian (0-2) is fielding one of its youngest team in some time and has little experience returning. With several starters missing to begin with and a couple other banged up during the game, Trojans coach Kevin Allen had nothing but praise for his team's effort.

"We don't have much experience, and not very healthy right now,"  Allen, in his second year as coach, said. "But I love the way these guys fought. We have a lot of sophomores out there. The JV played Tuesday and we had to have some of them out there tonight. The effort was there. And we competed." 

Tempe Prep limited Valley Christian to 168 yards on offense and just 28 yards on the ground. But the Trojans had four possessions in Knights territory, including one early in the game following a long punt return. Tempe Prep held then, forcing a 29-yard field-goal attempt  that was wide right  A drive inside the Tempe Prep 20 early in the fourth fizzled on downs. Tempe Prep collected three turnovers in all and blocked one punt.

"Our philosophy on defense is bend, don't break," Brittain said. "Coach (Jim) Atkinson does a great job with them. Our defense the game for us."

Tempe Prep's only sustained scoring drive came late in the first period. Quarterback Forest Redlin completed two passes on the drive to the Knights best receiver, senior Connor Gourley. The catches were good for 53 yards and the last went for 20 and a touchdwn. Gourley left in the second half, bothered by leg cramps that hindered the Knights' passing game the rest of the way.