Football Preview: Morenci Wildcats vs. Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets
Morenci has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game this season. they take on the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m.
Morenci fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Pima on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the Roughriders 20-14. The Wildcats have struggled against the Roughriders recently, as their game on Friday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Although Morenci took the loss, they still got scores from Xavier Ferandez and Julian Aragon.
Morenci's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Ferandez. He is also on a roll when it comes to interceptions, as he's now snagged at least one in the last three games he's played.
Meanwhile, Blue Ridge put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 33-6 win over Mingus on the road. Fans of the Yellow Jackets have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
Karlo Harris continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 224 yards while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. He didn't just play on offense: he also forced a fumble and made nine total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Blue Ridge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 269 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
One reason for the win was Blue Ridge's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 11 sacks. Anthony Seitz led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 11.
Morenci's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Blue Ridge, they pushed their record up to 4-0 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Morenci has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 242.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Blue Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 233.2. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Morenci couldn't quite finish off Blue Ridge in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 and fell 24-21. Can Morenci avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
