Football Game Preview: Chaparral Cowboys vs. Mojave Rattlers

The Chaparral Cowboys will head out on the road to challenge the Mojave Rattlers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Chaparral hasn't scored more than 13 points for five games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.

Chaparral is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Canyon Springs, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Chaparral was ranked 20th). Chaparral never let Canyon Springs onto the board and left with a 7-0 victory on Tuesday. Seven seems to be a good number for the Cowboys as the team scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.

Chaparral's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Asia Washington, who rushed for 102 yards on only 13 carries, and Sybol Hardinger, who threw for 133 yards and one touchdown while completing 73.1% of her passes.

On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Chaparral's defense and their three sacks. In that department, Sekia Taylor was the leader with two. Chaparral got some further help from Christina Chavez: she made nine total tackles and snagged an interception.

Meanwhile, Mojave has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 12.38 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Tuesday. They were beaten by Arbor View 40-12. The Rattlers' loss signaled the end of their nine-game winning streak.

Mojave's defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 10-3. As for Chaparral, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.

Chaparral took their win against Mojave when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a conclusive 25-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Chaparral since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.