The Morenci Wildcats and the Paradise Honors Panthers squared off in some playoff action on Thursday, but sadly the Morenci Wildcats had to settle for second. Morenci took a 42-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Paradise Honors. Morenci's loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Morenci's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Michael Casillas, who rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns, and Donovan Vozza who rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. Casillas has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last 11 times he's played.
Leading Paradise Honors to victory were Josh Morales and Gage Baker. Morales picked up 189 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while Baker threw for 373 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.2% of his passes. Morales was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 60 yards. Paradise Honors also got help from Isaiah Thomas who showed off his sure hands for 83 receiving yards.
Morenci's defeat dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Paradise Honors, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2.
Morenci does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Paradise Honors will head out on the road to face off against Valley Christian at 2:00 p.m. on November 18th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Valley Christian is ranked 50th, while Paradise Honors is ranked 48th).
