Football Preview: Higley Knights vs. Cactus Shadows Falcons
The Higley Knights are taking a road trip to take on the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Higley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Desert Edge, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Higley was ranked seventh). Higley put the hurt on Desert Edge with a sharp 39-14 win on Friday.
It was another big night for Luke Haugo, who threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 75 yards on only eight carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. 105 of those passing yards were hauled in by Jaden Taylor, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Higley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 209 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Higley wouldn't let Desert Edge keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Higley can thank Ezy Brown and Maxwell Siemen for forcing both of them. Siemen is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Higley got some further help from Kooper Woolf: he made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 55-28 victory over Boulder Creek at home. While the Falcons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-6), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Donivan C Dixon continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 103.2 rushing yards per game. Andrew Muirhead also helped out as he racked up 109 rushing yards.
Higley's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. As for Cactus Shadows, their record now sits at 4-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Higley has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 189.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cactus Shadows struggles in that department as they've been averaging 321.8. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Higley took their victory against Cactus Shadows when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 47-27. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was C Dixon, who rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Higley still be able to contain C Dixon? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
