Football Preview: Kellis Cougars vs. North Canyon Rattlers
After each having a week off, the Kellis Cougars and the North Canyon Rattlers will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Kellis is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 35 points per game this season.
Kellis is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Browne: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Kellis blew Browne out of the water with a 42-3 final score. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 40th, while the Bruins are ranked 148th), the result last Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
A big part of Kellis' victory came down to the chemistry between Ronald Coty Iii and his top target Tristan Bacon. Coty Iii rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns while Bacon rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Bacon also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making six total tackles (2.0 for loss). Avery Rodriguez got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Kellis was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Browne only rushed for 86.
Kellis didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jason Estrada and Rodriguez. Rocky Warner was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making seven total tackles (2.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, North Canyon was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their 14th straight defeat dating back to last season. They were beaten by Central 27-0. The contest marked the first time this year in which the Rattlers were not able to get on the board.
Kellis pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. As for North Canyon, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Everything came up roses for Kellis against North Canyon in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 52-8 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Kellis since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
