The Amphitheater Panthers will face off against the Sahuaro Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Amphitheater is coming into the matchup on a five-game losing streak.
Amphitheater's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Mica Mountain on Friday. They were outmatched by the Thunderbolts and fell 41-0. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 207th, while the Thunderbolts are ranked 64th).
Meanwhile, Sahuaro took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 42-7 win over Douglas. Considering the Cougars have won three contests by more than 34 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Amphitheater better keep an eye on Julian Perez. He was instrumental in Sahuaro's win, rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Those 105 rushing yards gave Perez a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mariano Blackwell, who threw for 143 yards and one TD while completing 91.7% of his passes.
Sahuaro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 263 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
One reason for the win was Sahuaro's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Joshua Cruz, Jaxson Moore, and Amari Feinen, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Sahuaro is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 11.7 points on average over those games. As for Amphitheater, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
Amphitheater ended up a good deal behind Sahuaro in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, losing 28-14. Thankfully for the Panthers, Vincenzo Orlando (who rushed for 113 yards and three scores on only 12 carries, and also threw for 30 yards and one touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
