Mesquite's debut Friday night under new coach Matt Gracey looked much like the Wildcats of a year ago with defense and a big run from standout back Anthony Lopez staples.

But the name echoing off the loud speakers in the early minutes of the contest was Karai Keil. Keil returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown with a little more two minutes gone and that set the tone for Mesquite to post a 20-3 triumph over intracity rival Highland at Highland High.

"(Keil) surprises you," Gracey said, calmly taking in his first victory as Mesquite's mentor after the game. "He makes plays. He had the interception. A couple of plays on special teams. And the reverse in the fourth quarter."

Keil, who also does the place kicking for Mesquite, had his name called five times by the public address annoucer in the first 2 minutes and 19 seconds. He opened the game kicking the ball out of the end zone, actually missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt wide right and then picked off Highland quarterback Merrick Madrid for the game's first score. He added the extra point and followed that booming his second kickoff through the end zone.

Keil's 35-yard run on a third-and-five from the Mesquite 37 with just more than four minutes left, set up the final scored of the night. That score extended the Wildcats lead to 20-3. The TD came on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Steven Bevan to Penili Pulotu with 2:51 left to play.

But back to Keil's interception. He had plenty of help on the pick-six from his defensive mates. Mesquite blitzed up the middle on the third down from the Highland 6. That forced Madrid to unload early and a floater was the result in the flat  that Keil grabbed and scampered with for the score.

"This defense is special, there are some great kids out there," Gracey said. "Moose (Josh Bamrick), Kody (Kohl). From what I understand they were the toughest team in the state to run on last year."

Highland did not play poorly, at least not on the defensive side. The Hawks turned the ball over three times inside their own 40 in the first 3:10 of the contest, yet yielded only Keil's interception return for points. They did a solid job keeping Lopez in check --- save one play.

That came with 5:29 left before halftime. Lopez took a pitch on a sweep left, got a great lead block and made a cutback just across midfield. When he makes that cut he's usually gone and that was the case again Friday. That cut completed a 63-yard TD run.

Gracey, who has only been guidiing Mesquite fulltime since mid-June when he arrived for good from California, knows Lopez well enough in that time that when he makes a cut it's six. Gracey raised his hands signaling touchdown the moment he saw Lopez move across the grain. It gave Mesquite a 13-0 lead at halftime.

Take away that long run, however, and Highland limited Lopez (102 yards for the game) to 39 yards on 16 other carries.

Mesquite's defense, which limited Highland to 114 yard total (only 40 rushing), had its hands full in the third period. The Wildcats turned the ball over twice at or just inside midfield. The only points they allowed came on a 47-yard field goal by Highland's Austin Casillas with 6:17 left in the third period. That cut Mesquite's lead to 13-3. Highland penetrated Mesquite's 20 just once in the game. That possession ended with Casillas missing a 36-yard field-goal attempt.