The Florence Gophers will head out on the road to take on the Coolidge Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Florence has five straight victories, Coolidge has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Florence's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Thursday. They breezed by Rio Rico at home to the tune of 43-0. That looming 43-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Gophers yet this season.
It was another big night for Logan Stenson, who rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 138 yards and a touchdown on only 13 passes. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 68 yards. Another player making a difference was Malik Smith, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 347 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Florence's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged six passes before it was all said and done. Kj Watts led the group effort, picking up three of those interceptions all by himself.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Coolidge's offense. They were dealt a 57-0 defeat at the hands of Combs two weeks ago. That makes it the first time this season the Bears have let down their home crowd.
Florence's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. As for Coolidge, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
Florence strolled past Coolidge in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a score of 30-12. The rematch might be a little tougher for Florence since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
