Football Preview: McClintock Chargers vs. Sunnyslope Vikings
The McClintock Chargers will face off against the Sunnyslope Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (McClintock has eight straight victories, Sunnyslope has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, McClintock blew past Gilbert, posting a 47-7 win at home. Fans of the Chargers have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
McClintock had a senior duo take command as Jaxon Knutson threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 13.0 yards per attempt and Amari Scroggins picked up 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Knutson is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last eight games he's played dating back to last season. Khalil Bender got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
McClintock didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Bender and Scroggins. McClintock got some further help from JJ Flakes: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles.
Meanwhile, Sunnyslope didn't have quite enough to beat Campo Verde on Friday and fell 23-20.
Despite the loss, Sunnyslope got top-tier performance from Mack Kump, who picked up 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
McClintock's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Sunnyslope, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. McClintock has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 361.6 passing yards per game. Sunnyslope, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 157.7 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
McClintock came up short against Sunnyslope when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 45-35. Thankfully for McClintock, Luke Moga (who rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries, and also threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
