Football Preview: Superior Panthers vs. Valley Union Blue Devils
Two dominant backs in Andrew Blair and Myles Richardson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Superior Panthers will head out to face off against the Valley Union Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Superior is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Ray, who was ranked 19th in their home state at the time (Superior was ranked 13th). Superior was the clear victor by a 60-40 margin over Ray on Friday. The Panthers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Blair continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 262 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 14.6 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Ryland Duarte was in the mix as well, providing Superior with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Superior was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 455 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 92.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last four contests they've averaged 280.5.
Superior didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Nicholas Rabago, Duarte, and James Henriquez picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Valley Union got the win against Fort Thomas last Friday by a conclusive 48-24. The result was nothing new for the Blue Devils, who have now won three games by 24 points or more so far this season.
Valley Union's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Dylan Mitchell, who threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns on only 18 passes, and Richardson, who gained 208 total yards and four touchdowns. Mitchell also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making ten total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging two interceptions. Steven De La Cruz also helped out as he racked up 152 receiving yards.
Superior has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season. As for Valley Union, their record now sits at 4-2.
Things could have been worse for Superior, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 44-30 loss to Valley Union in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. Can Superior avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
