After each having a week off, the Mesa Jackrabbits and the Cesar Chavez Champions will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cesar Chavez took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Mesa, who comes in off a win.
Last Friday, Mesa was able to grind out a solid victory over Salpointe Catholic, taking the game 23-14.
Rio Arnett produced another solid effort rushing for 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Caleb Tafua did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 94 receiving yards.
Mesa didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Salpointe Catholic to a completion percentage of just 47.8%. The Jackrabbits weren't nearly as limited: they posted one of 66.7%.
Mesa's defense didn't let Matthew Avelar, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. Motuhifonua Stephenson was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two himself. Another thorn in Salpointe Catholic's side was Kainalu Skipps, who made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss) and snagged an interception.
Meanwhile, Cesar Chavez was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They took a blow against Pinnacle, falling 44-7. While losing is never fun, the Champions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 85th, while the Pioneers are ranked seventh).
Mesa will have to keep a close watch on Ronald Brassfield and Mason Penrod, a pair of players who had a big impact on Cesar Chavez's prior game. Brassfield picked up 110 receiving yards and one score, while Penrod threw for 187 yards and one TD. Brassfield really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 85 yards.
The win got Mesa back to even at 3-3. As for Cesar Chavez, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Mesa and Cesar Chavez were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, but Mesa came up empty-handed after a 41-40 loss. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Champions' Pharis Jenkins, who rushed for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 11.8 yards per carry. Now that the Jackrabbits know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
