Desert Sunrise Shuts Out Marcos de Niza 32-0

Desert Sunrise controlled Thursday night's 4A East Sky matchup from the opening quarter, shutting out Marcos de Niza 32-0 at Desert Sunrise High School.

The Golden Hawks quickly established a lead in the first quarter. No. 10 opened the scoring with a touchdown before the ensuing extra-point attempt by No. 15 was unsuccessful.

Desert Sunrise struck again later in the quarter when No. 6 found the end zone. No. 14 converted the extra point, giving the Golden Hawks a 13-0 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.

The Desert Sunrise defense provided the biggest play of the second quarter. No. 14 Jenna Duong intercepted a Marcos de Niza pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. Duong's extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, but the pick-six extended the Golden Hawks' lead to 19-0 entering halftime.

Desert Sunrise continued adding to its advantage in the third quarter. No. 15 scored a touchdown to push the lead to 25-0, although No. 2's extra-point attempt was unsuccessful.

No. 30 later added another touchdown for the Golden Hawks. Duong converted the extra point, bringing the score to 32-0.

Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, allowing Desert Sunrise to finish the night with a 32-0 shutout.

After the game, Desert Sunrise head coach Bell praised the team's performance and its continued progress.

“I feel our team performed amazing. We have been performing amazing all week,” Bell said. “We double down on an amazing win Tuesday with a win tonight, and our girls are only getting better every game.”

Duong pointed to the team's chemistry and support for one another as an area of improvement.

“I think we had a better community tonight,” Duong said. “Everybody got along. Everybody was cheering on everybody, and I think that's what builds our team.”

Desert Sunrise finished the night with five touchdowns, including Duong's 60-yard interception return, while its defense kept Marcos de Niza off the scoreboard for all four quarters.