Football Preview: Las Vegas Wildcats vs. Cactus Shadows Falcons
Two dominant signal callers in Tanner Vibabul and Donivan C Dixon are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Las Vegas Wildcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Cactus Shadows is hoping to do what Desert Oasis couldn't on Friday: put an end to Las Vegas' winning streak, which now stands at four games. Las Vegas put the hurt on Desert Oasis with a sharp 33-12 win. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by 21 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Vibabul, who rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and also threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns. His longest rush was for an impressive 54 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Mychael Walker was Vibabul's top target, picking up 161 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Las Vegas wouldn't let Desert Oasis keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Leonard Castellanos, Christopher Boddy Jr, and Chris Fernandez picked up one apiece. Fernandez also set a new season high mark in total tackles with seven.
Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows faced Higley in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Cactus Shadows took a 56-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of Higley. The Falcons' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Despite the defeat, Cactus Shadows had strong showings from C Dixon, who rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry, and Andrew Muirhead, who gained 230 total yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, Muirhead is now averaging an impressive 103 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Dafnis, who picked up 88 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Even though they lost, Cactus Shadows was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 410 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 211 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
Las Vegas' victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Cactus Shadows, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
Saturday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Las Vegas has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 194.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cactus Shadows struggles in that department as they've been averaging 337.6. It's looking like Saturday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Las Vegas was dealt a bruising 54-19 defeat at the hands of Cactus Shadows in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of C Dixon, who rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also threw for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Now that Las Vegas knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
