The Coconino Panthers will head out to square off against the Apache Junction Prospectors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Coconino will be strutting in after a victory while Apache Junction will be coming in after a loss.
Coconino took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Everything went their way against Lee Williams as Coconino made off with a 49-26 win. The Panthers pushed the score to 42-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Volunteers cut but never quite recovered from.
Coconino's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Fernando Ramirez, who rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry, and also picked up 36 receiving yards. With that strong performance, Ramirez is now averaging an impressive 110 rushing yards per game. Another signal caller making a difference was Colton Buckingham, who threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Coconino was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 295 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, a win for Apache Junction just wasn't in the cards two weeks ago as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They lost 40-19 to Marcos de Niza. The Prospectors have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Apache Junction might have lost, but man, Aiden Deleon was a machine: he rushed for 160 yards on only ten carries, and also threw for 180 yards and a touchdown on only 15 passes. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 96 yards.
The victory got Coconino back to even at 3-3. As for Apache Junction, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Everything came up roses for Coconino against Apache Junction when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 71-14 win. In that matchup, Coconino amassed a halftime lead of 49-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
