Top 5 takeaways from Casteel's last-minute, thrill-ride win over Williams Field

Queen Creek Casteel celebrated a thrilling 23-20 win over Gilbert Williams Field on Friday night, beating its rival for the first time in school history in a final-minute comeback that showed the poise and resiliency of this team.

The Colts (3-0), who were without their top player Jeremiah Newcombe, gave up the lead for the first time late in the game. But, in the end, it was senior Landon Jury's will and sophomore Elijah Beamon's poise that won out.

Here are the top five takeaways:

1. Sophomore sensation saves the day

Beamon caught a touchdown pass for Casteel's first points of the game late in the first quarter, but he had two second-half drops that would have defeated most sophomores. Beamon is special. "He's got ice in his veins," coach Bobby Newcombe said.

With the game on the line, on third-and-10, Jury launched a 23-yard pass into the end zone that Beamon caught. He put got one foot down before falling out of bounds. Touchdown. That gave Casteel a 23-20 lead with 26 seconds left. It would hold up as Williams Field quarterback Travis Ebner was tackled at midfield as time ran out. The Colts players celebrated the breakthrough win on Williams Field's turn before a capacity crowd.

"He's an absolute stud," Bobby Newcombe said. "He's a special player. People have got to take notice."

2. Jury's resiliency, versatility under duress

Jury had every kind of offense he's had to learn, including the throw-back wishbone for Williams Field. That's an offense out of the Nebraska playbook that Bobby Newcombe ran when he played for the Cornhuskers during their glory days with coach Tom Osborne. Out of the wishbone, the Colts lined up middle linebacker Austin Young at halfback. He had some nice runs out of the bone to keep time-consuming drives moving. Jury kept and scored 4 yards out with 6:16 left to give Casteel a 16-7 lead.

"Sometimes you just have to get into the trenches and punch them in the mouth, and that is what that formation is for," Jury said.

On running the wishbone at times, Newcombe said, "You've got to maximize the strengths of your players."

3. No stopping Dylan Lee

A week after rushing for a 6A single-game state record 518 yards in a win over Scottsdale Chaparral, Williams Field junior Dylan Lee was contained for much of the game. But with the game on the line, Lee delivered. His 50-yard run led to Ebner's 29-yard scoring pass to Austin Vincent that cut the deficit to 16-13 with 5:08 to play, and the Black Hawks forced a three-and-out. Then, Lee took off on a misdirection play for a 24-yard run with 2:48 left that gave the Black Hawks their first lead of the game, 20-16. Williams Field (2-1) couldn't keep handing the ball off to Lee after Casteel scored with 26 seconds left to take back the lead. That was the only way Casteel could stop him at the end.

4. Open for debate?

This was a win that keeps Casteel in the Open Division playoff race among the top eight teams in Arizona. The Colts flew under the radar to begin the season. But they knocked Mountain Ridge out of the Open conversation in the first week with a dominant performance. Now, to beat a very good, very physical and well-coached Williams Field team, the Colts can keep building from this. And they'll have Jeremiah Newcombe back next week when they play Casa Grande. Casteel is part of the most brutal region in the state, the Premier, so it will see how things go during an Oct. 7-to-Nov. 4 stretch when it plays Chandler, Perry, Hamilton and Basha all in a row. That stretch will determine where Casteel ends up in the playoffs. But this is a playoff team, whether it's the Open or in 6A.

5. Williams Field still has hope for a deep run

Williams Field will only get stronger this season. It has a great offensive line that met a strong match in Casteel's defensive front. It showed a great deal of fortitude to come back in the final quarter Friday against a good Casteel defense. And once Josh Dye returns from an injury, the backfield will be even stronger, because coach Steve Campbell can give Lee a breather between long runs.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Casteel's last-minute win over Williams Field