Football Recap: River Valley Beats Payson for Their Fifth Straight Win

Dust Devils

Previous 5 Games

10/24/25 @ Payson	34-31
10/17/25 vs Seton Catholic	40-6
10/03/25 vs Wickenburg	71-0
09/26/25 @ Kingman	56-6
09/20/25 vs Odyssey Institute	56-6

River Valley extended their winning streak to five on Friday, bumping them up to 6-3. They skirted past the Payson Longhorns 34-31. River Valley's win was all the more impressive since the Longhorns were averaging only 13.89 points allowed on the season.

River Valley didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Nathan Bush.

As for Payson, their defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-3. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for they, who until this matchup were averaging 13.89 points allowed.

Payson's loss came despite strong showings from Bert Scheer and Nolan Keeney. Scheer rushed for 69 yards, while Keeney rushed for 68 yards on only nine carries.

Coming up, River Valley will challenge Dysart at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Demons will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each game than the last. As for Payson, they will square off against Show Low at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average (the Longhorns 13.9, the Cougars 6.3) so any points scored will be well earned.