Willow Canyon was the 15-10 winner over Ironwood when they last played one another back in October of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Willow Canyon Wildcats fell just short of the Ironwood Eagles by a score of 30-28 on Friday. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, Willow Canyon saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Joel Cooper rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Cooper is now averaging an impressive 116.3 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Roman Thuyns, who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
Even though they lost, Willow Canyon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 302 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Ironwood was led to victory by Khavontae Paul and Ramsey Pyne. Paul rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, while Pyne picked up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns. What's more, he's the contest marked his fourth straight with at least 115.
Willow Canyon's defeat dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Ironwood, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-3.
Willow Canyon wasted no time getting back out on the field and has already played their next game, a 54-47 loss against Goldwater on the 8th. Ironwood has also already played their next matchup, a 33-20 defeat against Apollo on the 8th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
