Preview: Morenci Wildcats vs. Paradise Honors Panthers
The Morenci Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Paradise Honors Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Morenci comes in on five and Paradise Honors on four.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Morenci walked away with it. They blew past Benjamin Franklin 35-7 at home.
Morenci's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Michael Casillas led the charge by rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Casillas has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last ten times he's played. Morenci also got a significant boost from Donovan Vozza, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 80 yards.
Morenci's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Andrew Chavez and Tristen Sanchez who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Paradise Honors stacked a eighth blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 64-23 win over Gilbert Christian. With Paradise Honors ahead 56-17 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
It was another big night for Gage Baker, who threw for 571 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 88% of his passes. Baker is absolutely dominating the passing touchdown category: he's posted at least three every time he's taken the field this season. Isaiah Thomas did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 148 receiving yards.
Morenci pushed their record up to 8-3 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.0 points per game. As for Paradise Honors, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's contest: Morenci has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.5 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Paradise Honors, though, as they've been averaging only 39.5 per game. How will Paradise Honors fare against such a dominant running game? Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
