Football Preview: Cactus Shadows Falcons vs. Agua Fria Owls
The Cactus Shadows Falcons will square off against the Agua Fria Owls at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cactus Shadows is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 44.8 points per game this season.
Cactus Shadows is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Horizon, who was ranked ninth in their home state at the time (Cactus Shadows was ranked 24th). Cactus Shadows lost to Horizon at home by a 40-21 margin on Friday. The Falcons haven't had much luck with the Huskies recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Donivan C Dixon and Jase Ashley. Ashley had a great game and threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes. Meanwhile, C Dixon was balling out in the loss, rushing for 126 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 272 yards on 24 of 47 attempts.
Even though they lost, Cactus Shadows was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 211 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Agua Fria was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. The matchup between them and Apollo wasn't particularly close, with Agua Fria falling 41-26.
Despite the defeat, Agua Fria had strong showings from Jayvier Cook, who rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries, and Camarion Samuel, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown. Cook's longest rush was for an impressive 50 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Agua Fria wouldn't let Apollo keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Agua Fria can thank Martin NdumnJeck and Jaere Joung for forcing both of them. NdumnJeck is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least six every time he's taken the field this season.
Cactus Shadows' loss dropped their record down to 6-4. As for Agua Fria, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Cactus Shadows has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 278.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Agua Fria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 167.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Cactus Shadows against Agua Fria in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 56-14 win. In that match, Cactus Shadows amassed a halftime lead of 35-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
