The Horizon Huskies will face off against the Chaparral Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Chaparral took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Horizon, who comes in off a win.
Horizon is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Desert Mountain, who was ranked 14th at the time (Horizon was ranked 19th). The Huskies came out on top against the Wolves by a score of 35-22 on Friday. Horizon's victory was all the more impressive since the Wolves were averaging only 13.33 points allowed on the season.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Bodie Zamorano and Easton Conner. Zamorano had a great game and rushed for 116 yards and a pair of scores. Meanwhile, Conner did his best for the losing side, rushing for 84 yards and one touchdown.
Stratton Knee
| 10/24/25 @ Desert Mountain | 6 |
| 10/17/25 vs Highland | 9 |
| 10/10/25 @ Cactus Shadows | 6 |
| 10/03/25 vs Notre Dame Prep | 9 |
| 09/25/25 @ McClintock | 7 |
| 09/19/25 vs Sunnyslope | 9 |
Horizon didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Chace Wise, Sebastian Aranki, Ethan Shaw, and Stratton Knee picked up one apiece. Knee has been hot, having also posted six or more total tackles the last six times he's played.
Meanwhile, Chaparral was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They fell 21-14 to Cactus Shadows. While the Firebirds had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Falcons 7-0.
Although Chaparral took the loss, they still got scores from Max Mangini and Jayce Wilson.
Horizon's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2. Those road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 37.0 points over those games. As for Chaparral, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Horizon has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 249.7 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Chaparral, though, as they've been averaging only 49.2 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Horizon came up short against Chaparral when the teams last played back in August of 2017, falling 24-20. Thankfully for the Huskies, Darvon Hubbard (who rushed for 122 yards and a pair of TDs on only 12 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
