Football Preview: Higley Knights vs. Cactus Shadows Falcons
The Higley Knights will head out to square off against the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Higley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Desert Edge, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Higley was ranked seventh). Higley blew past Desert Edge 39-14 on Friday.
Luke Haugo continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 173 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 75 yards on only eight carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. 105 of those passing yards were hauled in by Jaden Taylor, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Higley wouldn't let Desert Edge keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Higley can thank Ezy Brown and Maxwell Siemen for forcing both of them. Siemen is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Desert Edge's side was Kooper Woolf, who made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Higley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 209 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Boulder Creek 55-28 at home. While the Falcons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-6), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Donivan C Dixon was his usual excellent self, rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 103.2 rushing yards per game. Andrew Muirhead also helped out as he racked up 109 rushing yards.
Higley's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. As for Cactus Shadows, their record now sits at 4-0.
Higley took their win against Cactus Shadows when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 47-27. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was C Dixon, who rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Higley still be able to contain C Dixon? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
