Football Game Preview: Rio Rico Hawks vs. Empire Ravens + Official Tickets

The Rio Rico Hawks will challenge the Empire Ravens at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Rio Rico has given up an average of 38.2 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

On Friday, Rio Rico was beaten by Sahuarita 42-14. The Hawks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Although Rio Rico took the loss, they still got scores from Abiel Yanez and Aldo Santos.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Empire). They took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 36-6 victory over Cholla. The win continues a trend for the Ravens in their matchups with the Chargers: they've now won four in a row.

A big part of Empire's victory came down to the chemistry between Bryson Taton and his top target Jalen Camacho. Taton picked up 62 receiving yards and one score while Camacho rushed for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only seven carries. Taton got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 55 yards.

Empire's run defense was locked in: Cholla could only muster 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Boden Eustis for the heroic effort on defense: he. Empire's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 5.2.

Empire didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Braden Krammer, Alex Elias, Lukas Elias, and Camacho picked up one apiece. Alex got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Empire's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-5. As for Rio Rico, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 1-5.

Rio Rico ended up a good deal behind Empire in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, losing 34-20. Can the Hawks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.