III Section VII recap November 13, 2013
Adding to the longest winning streak in III Section VII this week, Desert Edge beat Thunderbird 56-26. The victory was the 11th in a row for the Scorpions.
Agua Fria lost to Williams Field 56-21 last week, the largest margin of any game. Marquice Paige ran for 212 yards and caught 2 passes for 33 yards in the loss.
Chris Salsberry was a beast in the backfield as Shadow Ridge defeated Catalina Foothills.
Sam VerStraten made the biggest impact on defense this week as the Stallions topped the Falcons. He pulled down 1 interception and recorded 1 fumble.
Anthony Hernandez threw for 440 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was 39-46 with 1 interception.
Jordan Jackson was the best wideout in the league this week as Desert Edge defeated the Chiefs. Jackson tallied 15 receptions for 194 yards. Elijah Marks helped Desert Edge's passing attack out by catching 16 balls for 158 yards.
Rich Wellbrock's team's Hernandez and Marks have formed a dream team this season, leading the league in both passing and receiving yards. 5-8 quarterback Hernandez has thrown for 3,839 yards this season, while Marks has 102 catches for 1,960 yards. Shadow Ridge's Salsberry leads the league in rushing yards with 1,988.
The top two teams in III Section VII will face off this week when first place Desert Edge takes on second place Shadow Ridge. Last week, the Scorpions bested Thunderbird, while Rico Tipton's team topped Catalina Foothills.
Desert Edge's Jackson needs only 69 receiving yards against the Stallions to crack 1,000 for the season. So far this year, he has acheived 53 catches for 931 yards.
So far this year, Eric Ruiz has thrown for 1,857 yards with 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
One of the league's premier quarterbacks will face off with its top pass rusher when the Scorpions and Shadow Ridge face off next week.
There should be lots of points scored when Desert Edge and the Stallions face off this week. The top two offenses in the league, the Scorpions comes in having scored 558 this season, while Shadow Ridge has scored 388. Desert Edge scored 56 points last week as it beat Brent Wittenwyler's team.
The Stallions made the biggest leap in the national rankings this week, rising to 1,823 from 2,114. The improvement was largely due to a 51-41 victory over Jeff Scurran's team last week.
Story is based on stats entered in MaxPreps by Tuesday 5am PST each week.
