Football Preview: Marana Tigers vs. Cienega Bobcats
A feisty cat fight will be fought when Tigers dukes it out withthe Cienega Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. They will need to watch out since Marana has now posted at least 31 points in their last six matches.
Cienega's offense is going to have their work cut out for them on Friday: Marana hadn't allowed a single point the last three times they've hit the field. Marana breezed by Casa Grande at home to the tune of 45-0 on Friday. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 33 points or more this season.
Marana got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jeffrey Smith3Rd out in front who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also caught a touchdown. Colten Meyer was another key passer, throwing for 292 yards and four touchdowns while completing 83.9% of his passes.
Another reason for the win was Marana's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Greg Webb and Hayden Utley, who racked up five sacks between them. Webb is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Cienega had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They strolled past Desert View with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 34-19.
Ledainean Moore went supernova for Cienega, rushing for 167 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.4 yards per carry. Those 167 rushing yards gave Moore a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Julian Hainley, who threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cienega was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Marana pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Cienega, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Marana has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 341.4 passing yards per game. Cienega, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 157.5 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Marana against Cienega in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 46-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Marana since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
