Football Preview: Saguaro Sabercats vs. Basha Bears
The Saguaro Sabercats will head out to square off against the Basha Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given how much these teams ran up and down the field in their prior games.
Saguaro is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Mountain View, who was ranked 11th in their home state at the time (Saguaro was ranked 16th). Saguaro was outmatched by Mountain View on the road and fell 57-27. The Sabercats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 50-21.
Despite the loss, Saguaro saw an underclassman step up: Zealand Danielson threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown. 100 of those passing yards were hauled in by Mason Whitaker.
Saguaro's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Kydel Stone and Jaydon Wiseman. Wiseman also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making four total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Basha at home against Mesa on Friday as the team secured a 47-3 win. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked third, while the Jackrabbits are ranked 43rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Basha can attribute much of their success to Noah Roberts, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and Broderick Vehrs, who threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in rushing yards. Another back making a difference was Isaiah Mclver, who gained 84 total yards and a touchdown.
Saguaro dropped their record down to 0-2 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Basha, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 2-0.
Saguaro came up short against Basha when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 35-31. Thankfully for Saguaro, Demond Williams Jr. (who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
