The Estrella Foothills Wolves will square off against the Gila Ridge Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Estrella Foothills is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They skirted past Sahuaro 17-14. The victory almost wasn't to be: the Wolves were down 14-0 in the second quarter.
Estrella Foothills relied on the efforts of Shawn Ellison, who picked up 135 receiving yards and one touchdown, and Jacob Rawls, who threw for 105 yards and one TD.
Estrella Foothills didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Sahuaro to a completion percentage of just 50%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from five players: Xander Teeter, Gavin Knebel, Nolan Roth, Will Hobbs, and Josh Udall, who each logged one passes deflected. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Estrella Foothills; they were averaging 60.7%completion percentage earlier this season, but in their last three contests they've fallen to only 60.7%.
Estrella Foothills' defense didn't let Mariano Blackwell, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Teeter and Rudy Martinez, who each picked up 0.5 sacks apiece.
Meanwhile, Gila Ridge entered their tilt with Cibola two weeks ago with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. Their defense stepped up to hand the Raiders a 45-0 shutout. Considering the Hawks have won four games by more than 44 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Gila Ridge's win came from a few key players Estrella Foothills will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Isaac Soliz, who threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes. Those 326 passing yards gave him a new career-high. Gabriel Cota was Soliz's top target, picking up 159 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Gila Ridge didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kameron Potter and Drake Phillips. Potter has been hot recently, having also posted nine or more total tackles the last three times he's played. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Estrella Foothills' record is now 8-3. As for Gila Ridge, their record now sits at 9-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Estrella Foothills has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 149.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gila Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 177.9 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Estrella Foothills couldn't quite finish off Gila Ridge in their previous meeting back in October of 2019 and fell 28-26. Can the Wolves avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
