On Friday, Horizon faced Cactus Shadows in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Horizon Huskies took down the Cactus Shadows Falcons 40-21. The Huskies pushed the score to 40-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Falcons cut but never quite recovered from.
Jase Ashley was his usual excellent self, throwing for 239 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes, while also rushing for 34 yards and a touchdown. Adem Wagner was Ashley's top target, picking up 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Horizon's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. Cactus Shadows' QB won't forget Jayden Ridley anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Ridley is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season. Beau Caliendo was another major factor on D, making nine total tackles (3.0 for loss).
When it comes to explaining why Cactus Shadows lost, don't look at Donivan C Dixon. Despite the final result, he rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 272 yards on 24 of 47 attempts. 90 of C Dixon's passing yards were hauled in by Dillon Aspiras.
The win was the fifth in a row for Horizon, bringing their record for this year to 8-1. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 14.0 points per game. As for Cactus Shadows, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-4 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Horizon will take on ALA - Gilbert North at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Horizon will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last. As for Cactus Shadows, they will challenge Agua Fria at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cactus Shadows is facing Agua Fria at the right time seeing as Agua Fria is stuck on a four-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
