The Page Sand Devils will head out on the road to face off against the Wickenburg Wranglers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Page has six straight victories, Wickenburg has ten straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Page is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Chinle: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Sand Devils blew the Wildcats out of the water with a 48-0 final score. The result was nothing new for the Sand Devils, who have now won six matchups by 26 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Joseph Benally, who rushed for 103 yards and one TD on only seven carries, and also threw for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. His longest rush was for an impressive 60 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Renato Littleman was another key player, rushing for 51 yards and two scores.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Page was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 269 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Wickenburg played a tough game on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Kingman 62-7. The Wranglers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-7.
Page's record is now 7-2. As for Wickenburg, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.
Thursday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Page has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 185.3 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Wickenburg, though, as they've been averaging only 17 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Page came up short against Wickenburg in their previous matchup back in September of 2024, falling 20-7. Thankfully for the Sand Devils, Nick Formica (who rushed for 141 yards and one TD, and also picked up 35 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
