Football Game Preview: Mayer Wildcats vs. Valley Union Blue Devils

The Mayer Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Valley Union Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Mayer is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Joseph City, who was ranked 18th at the time (Mayer was ranked 22nd). Mayer took a 40-34 hit to the loss column at the hands of Joseph City last Friday. Mayer has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite their defeat, Mayer saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jonny Bryce, who rushed for 108 yards and two scores, and also picked up 42 receiving yards, was perhaps the best of all. Another back making a difference was Kyle Dorman, who gained 65 total yards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Valley Union). They blew past Fort Thomas 66-0 on Friday. The Blue Devils might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 20 points or more this season.

Valley Union's win came from a few key players Mayer will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Yahir Luna, who rushed for 104 yards and a pair of TDs on only eight carries. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 58 yards. Myles Richardson was in the mix as well, providing Valley Union with two touchdowns.

Valley Union was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 413 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 343 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.

Valley Union didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael Durazo and Zion Moore. Moore got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Valley Union pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 2.0 points on average over those games. As for Mayer, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.