Football Recap: Sahuaro Starts off Right with Win over Empire + How To Watch

Sahuaro had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 41-3 victory over the Empire Ravens. The Cougars pushed the score to 27-3 by the end of the third, a deficit the Ravens had little chance of recovering from.

Trevor Eagerton

Passer Rating (Career)

08/29/25 @ Empire	154.7
10/11/24 vs Walden Grove	126.2
11/08/24 @ Pueblo	122.4
10/04/24 vs Catalina Foothills	66.7
08/30/24 @ Sabino	18.1

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sahuaro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Trevor Eagerton, who threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. The dominant performance also gave Eagerton a new career-high in passer rating (154.7). Isaac Lugo was another key rusher, rushing for 147 yards on only 13 carries.

Sahuaro's run defense was locked in: Empire could only muster two yards per carry. While two picked up at least four total tackles, Mariano Blackwell stood above the rest. He threw for 65 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 83.3% of his passes, and also caught one touchdown. Sahuaro didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.8.

Sahuaro didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael McCord and Nicholas Bojorquez.

Sahuaro didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 45-7 defeat against Desert View on the 5th. As for Empire, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, a 35-7 loss against Maricopa on the 5th.