Football Preview: Cactus Cobras vs. Sunrise Mountain Mustangs
Cactus has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will challenge the Sunrise Mountain Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Cactus is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 30.9 points per game this season.
Last Thursday, Cactus earned a 50-41 win over Verrado.
Cactus' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tayejion Player, who rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Robert Bell Jr, who gained 99 total yards and two touchdowns.
Cactus didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Bell Jr and John Jones. Jones has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last three times he's played.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cactus was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 313 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, there was early excitement for Sunrise Mountain after they claimed the first score on Friday, but it was Desert Edge who ended up claiming the real prize. Sunrise Mountain lost 42-17 to Desert Edge. The Mustangs haven't had much luck with the Scorpions recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Sunrise Mountain had strong showings from Nicholas Bombaci, who rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Elijah Mendez, who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown. Those 100 rushing yards gave Mendez a new career-high.
Cactus has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. As for Sunrise Mountain, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Cactus has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 403.1 total yards per game. It's a different story for Sunrise Mountain, though, as they've been averaging only 205.6. Will Cactus be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Sunrise Mountain flip the script?
Cactus came out on top in a nail-biter against Sunrise Mountain when the teams last played back in October of 2023, sneaking past 48-45. Does Cactus have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sunrise Mountain turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
