On Friday, Higley faced Marana in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Higley Knights took a 36-28 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Marana Tigers. The Knights' loss signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Higley lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Luke Haugo, who threw for 253 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 49 yards. That's the most rushing yards Haugo has posted since back in October of 2023. Jaden Taylor also helped out with an impressive 145 receiving yards.
Higley wouldn't let Marana keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Higley can thank Kooper Woolf and Maxwell Siemen for forcing both of them. Woolf is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last 12 games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Marana's side was Jayden Rhodes, who made 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Even though they lost, Higley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 219 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Marana only rushed for 88.
Marana's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sean Roebuck led the charge by picking up 135 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 12 yards and a touchdown. Roebuck was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 68 yards. Dezmen Roebuck did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 131 receiving yards.
Having lost for the first time this season, Higley fell to 2-1. As for Marana, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-0.
Higley will look to take advantage of their home-field for the first time this season as they take on Desert Edge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Higley will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak dating back to last season alive. As for Marana, they will welcome Mountain View at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
