The Sahuarita Mustangs will head out on the road to take on the Empire Ravens at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Sahuarita is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Rincon/University, posting a 54-0 victory. Considering the Mustangs have won three matchups by more than 27 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Sahuarita's receiving core played a big role in the win, headlined by Dane Hartnett and Gary Acosta Jr. Hartnett threw for 150 yards and three TDs while completing 90% of his passes while Acosta Jr gained 97 total yards and three touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Acosta Jr a new career-high in receiving touchdowns (two).
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Sahuarita's defense and their seven sacks. Rincon/University's QB won't forget William Thwaits anytime soon given he sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Empire challenged Rio Rico on Friday. The Ravens blew past the Hawks 41-21. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Ravens.
Empire's win came from a few key players Sahuarita will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jalen Camacho, who rushed for 182 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Taylor, who threw for 144 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 72.2% of his passes.
Empire was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 269 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
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, Chase Cutman- Gamboa, Bryson Taton, and Aden Coy picked up one apiece. Taton got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Empire picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 2-5. As for Sahuarita, their record now sits at 3-4.
Sahuarita beat Empire 20-12 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Ravens have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
