The Higley Knights are taking a road trip to challenge the Cactus Shadows Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Higley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Desert Edge, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Higley was ranked seventh). Higley put the hurt on Desert Edge with a sharp 39-14 victory on Friday.
It was another big night for Luke Haugo, who threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 75 yards on only eight carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. A healthy portion of that aerial production (105 yards to be exact) went to Jaden Taylor, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Higley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 209 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Higley's defense made their presence known, laying out Elijah Sherbin-Fox. four times. Jayden Rhodes was especially locked on to Desert Edge's QB and sacked him twice. Higley got some further help from Kooper Woolf: he made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, Cactus Shadows put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Boulder Creek 55-28 at home. While the Falcons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-6), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Donivan C Dixon continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 184 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns. His longest rush was for an impressive 64 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Jake King was another key player, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Higley's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. As for Cactus Shadows, their record now sits at 4-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Higley has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 189.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cactus Shadows struggles in that department as they've been averaging 305.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Higley took their victory against Cactus Shadows in their previous meeting back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 47-27. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was C Dixon, who rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Higley still be able to contain C Dixon? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
