The Cactus Shadows Falcons will face off against the Paradise Valley Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Cactus Shadows' defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Camelback 35-0. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Falcons' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Spartans are ranked 103rd).
Donivan Dixon
| 09/19/25 @ Camelback | 5 |
| 10/18/24 vs ALA - Gilbert North | 4 |
| 09/12/25 @ Eastmark | 3 |
| 09/05/25 vs ALA - Gilbert North | 3 |
| 10/10/24 @ Desert Mountain | 3 |
Donivan Dixon produced another solid performance throwing for 350 yards and five TDs while picking up 12.1 yards per attempt. Those five passing touchdowns gave him a new career-high. Cactus Shadows' leading receiver Alex Dafnis was Dixon's top target yet again, picking up 132 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Cactus Shadows proved: they limited Camelback to a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Casen Stieg for the heroic effort on defense: he. Cactus Shadows didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.5.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Paradise Valley). They claimed a resounding 63-21 win over Flagstaff. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Paradise Valley's win came from a few key players Cactus Shadows will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kaleb Simmons, who rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 114.5 rushing yards per game. Alonzo Gonzales was another key player, picking up 254 receiving yards and three TDs.
One reason for the win was Paradise Valley's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Kavish Vieira with 2.5. He also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with seven.
Paradise Valley pushed their record up to 3-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.0 points over those games. As for Cactus Shadows, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
We should be in store for an exciting game as Cactus Shadows and Paradise Valley have no problem gaining yardage. The Falcons have been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 453.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Paradise Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 386 total yards. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything came up roses for Cactus Shadows against Paradise Valley in their previous meeting back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 37-6 victory. Will the Falcons repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
