We played three good teams that made us better. We put things together and gave a more consistent effort. I was pleased with our preparation leading up to this game.

What kept us going was our defense came up with some big plays. We had good field position and all those factors worked together for us.

Again, it's the experience factor. He didn't play tailback last year, so it takes time.

Mesquite is a very strong running team, and they like to keep it simple. They played Desert Vista very well and had them down. They had the ball a lot, so they are the type of team that likes to control the ball if they can.

If we start putting these things together, we're going to be good. We want to be ready to make a run in the region (which begins in three weeks).

We're definitely playing better. We're getting close. We're doing a better job in execution and assignments, and recognition of the things we need to do.