Two dominant backs in Fernando Ramirez and Josiah Thornwell are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Coconino Panthers will face off against the Mica Mountain Thunderbolts at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Coconino is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Flagstaff: they outscored them in every quarter. Coconino blew past Flagstaff 49-26 on Friday. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Panthers had established a 22 point advantage.
Coconino relied on the efforts of Ramirez, who rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry, and Colton Buckingham, who threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns on perfect 12-for-12 passing. Ethan Jeffs was in the mix as well, providing Coconino with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Mica Mountain put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Catalina Foothills 47-6. Given the Thunderbolts' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 28th, while the Falcons are ranked 96th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mica Mountain can attribute much of their success to Jayden Thoreson, who threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Thornwell was another key player, rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Mica Mountain's win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.3 points per game. As for Coconino, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
