Top seed Canyon del Oro served notice to the rest of the Class 4A Division I state playoff teams Friday night with a 56-35 win over visiting Peoria Sunrise Mountain.
The win was CDO's 25th in a row.
The final score gave little indication of how the game really went.
CDO (11-0) sprinted to a 42-0 lead in the first quarter behind the senior leadership of running back Ka'Deem Carey and quarterback Jason McBrayer.
The duo combined for seven touchdowns on the night, and both were done by halftime.
"It felt really good to come out and get ahead early," said McBrayer. "We got a lot of the other guys that work hard in practice a chance to play, and it's a good way to keep our first team healthy."
Carey has been plagued with injuries throughout the regular season, but was in full force against the Mustang defense.
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He ran for 95 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 10.5 yards per carry.
"I feel 100 percent now," said Carey. "Our O-line was strong, and anybody could have run through the holes they were making. The only people that can beat us are ourselves."
The 16th-seeded Mustangs (5-6) got on the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter when backup quarterback Josh Ackerman-Blake completed an 80-yard strike to Dre Bookman.
It was the first play that saw any real success against a Dorado defense that had completely shut the Mustangs down up to that point, and sidelined starting quarterback Max Shepherd in the opening series.
All the Mustangs' points came against CDO's second-team defense.
A failed onside kick gave the Dorados the ball at the Mustang 46-yard line, where Carey made his run of the night, breaking tackles and eluding defenders all the way to the end zone.
"You honestly can't stop our offense," said Carey. "If the defense keys on me, it opens things up for Jason. And my front line makes everything so much easier."
The Dorados will host Glendale's eighth-seeded Apollo Hawks next Friday at 7 p.m.
