Two dominant backs in Joel Cooper and Dylan Hayhurst are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Willow Canyon Wildcats will take on the Goldwater Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Friday, Willow Canyon didn't have quite enough to beat Ironwood and fell 30-28. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the defeat, Willow Canyon saw an underclassman step up: sophomore 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. Another player making a difference was Roman Thuyns, who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
Meanwhile, Goldwater unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak on Friday. They lost 42-21 to Mountain Ridge.
Goldwater might have lost, but man, Hayhurst was a machine: he rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 16 yards and a touchdown. What's more, he's the contest marked his eighth straight with at least 111.
Even though they lost, Goldwater was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 220 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 217 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups.
Goldwater's loss dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Willow Canyon, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
Willow Canyon was taken down by Goldwater 60-14 in their previous matchup back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hayhurst, who rushed for 80 yards and three touchdowns. Now that Willow Canyon knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
