Football Preview: O'Connor Eagles vs. Higley Knights
The O'Connor Eagles are taking a road trip to square off against the Higley Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. O'Connor will be strutting in after a win while Higley will be coming in after a defeat.
O'Connor barely beat Mountain Ridge the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Eagles put the hurt on the Mountain Lions with a sharp 28-7 victory on Friday. The Eagles not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since August 29th (when they won 42-6).
O'Connor's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Brodie Moore, who rushed for 94 yards and one score, and also threw for 51 yards and one touchdown. Brady Dorsey did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 88 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: O'Connor was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 292 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August.
Another reason for the win was O'Connor's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece. Another thorn in Mountain Ridge's side was Marcus Johnson, who picked up a sack, made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended one pass.
Meanwhile, Higley faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Knights took a hard 31-13 fall against the Coyotes. The Knights have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Higley didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off six passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Aurei Moody. Dax White was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 21 total tackles (4.0 for loss).
O'Connor's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-7. As for Higley, the loss was their first on the road , dropping their record down to 6-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps