Football Preview: Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks vs. Sahuaro Cougars
Ironwood Ridge has gone 4-0 against Sahuaro recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Sahuaro Cougars at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Friday, Ironwood Ridge made easy work of Douglas and carried off a 35-9 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Nighthawks.
A big part of Ironwood Ridge's win came down to the chemistry between Jaiden Martinez and his top target Matthew Kroner. Martinez threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per attempt while Kroner picked up 214 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Kroner's longest reception was for an incredible 80 yards.
Meanwhile, everything went Sahuaro's way against Cholla last Thursday as Sahuaro made off with a 35-14 victory. That looming 35-14 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Cougars yet this season.
Sahuaro got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaac Lugo out in front who rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. Lugo's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 136 rushing yards dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Manzo Blackwell, who threw for 140 yards and three touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Sahuaro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in five consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Ironwood Ridge's victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Sahuaro, their win bumped their record up to an identical 3-1.
Everything came up roses for Ironwood Ridge against Sahuaro when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 44-7 victory. Does Ironwood Ridge have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sahuaro turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
