Football Recap: Verrado Piles Up the Points Against South Mountain + How To Watch

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Verrado). They claimed a resounding 55-0 win over the South Mountain Jaguars. Given the Vipers' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while the Jaguars are ranked 178th) , the win on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Malachi Wilt

Passing Yards

09/26/25 vs South Mountain	352
09/19/25 vs Yuma Catholic	300
09/12/25 @ Ironwood	242
09/04/25 @ West Point	313
08/29/25 vs Horizon	298

It was another big night for Malachi Wilt, who threw for 352 yards and six TDs while completing 87.5% of his passes. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 301 passing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Carter Bliss, who picked up 73 receiving yards and three scores.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Verrado proved: they limited South Mountain to a paltry two yards per carry. While 13 picked up at least one total tackle, Adrian Ochoa stood above the rest. He made one tackle and snagged an interception which he returned for a touchdown. Verrado's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 3.9.

Verrado didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Ochoa, Kody Quine, and Jairius Handley picked up one apiece. Ochoa got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

The victory (which was Verrado's fourth in a row) raised their record to 4-1. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 10.0 points on average over those games. As for South Mountain, they are on an eight-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-5.

Verrado wasted no time getting back out on the field and has already played their next contest, a 45-38 defeat against Millennium on the 3rd. As for South Mountain, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 59-6 loss against Camelback on the 3rd.