Football Recap: Cactus Piles Up the Points Against Apollo

Cobras

Previous 3 Games

10/03/25 @ Apollo	51-20
09/26/25 @ Sunnyslope	52-35
09/19/25 @ Peoria	48-14

Cactus waltzed into their matchup on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Apollo Hawks 51-20. Given the Cobras' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Hawks are ranked 107th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cactus found their leader in sophomore Nathaniel Linares, who rushed for 200 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. Luke Berlin helped out on the ground, rushing for 87 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Cactus proved: they limited Apollo to a paltry 2.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Jericho Peralta for the heroic effort on defense: he. Cactus' run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 2.8 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 9.5 on average over their last five games.

Special teams was a major factor in the game for Cactus, racking up 21 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Robert Bell, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.

Several Hawks players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Mila Chieg, who picked up 155 receiving yards and one score. Chieg showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 52 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Thomas Williams, who threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Cactus' victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Apollo, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-5.

We've got plenty of inter-region action coming up soon. Cactus will challenge rival Yuma Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Apollo is set to take on their familiar foe West Point at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.