The Phoenix Christian Cougars will challenge the Benson Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Phoenix Christian's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They breezed past Tonopah Valley to the tune of 35-0.
Kevin Palafox
| 10/03/25 vs Mountainside | 145 |
| 09/19/25 @ Santa Cruz Valley | 94 |
| 10/24/25 vs Tonopah Valley | 83 |
| 08/29/25 vs Benson | 65 |
| 10/11/25 @ Scottsdale Christian Academy | 48 |
Gio Young produced another solid effort rushing for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only eight carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 75 yards. Kevin Palafox helped out on the ground, rushing for 83 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Phoenix Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Jude House. Another thorn in Tonopah Valley's side was Daniel Sanchez, who picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Benson had no problem doing just that on Friday. They blew past the Tigers, posting a 49-6 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bobcats.
Phoenix Christian better keep an eye on Dawson Judd. He was instrumental in Benson's win, throwing for 307 yards and six TDs on only 17 passes, while also rushing for 31 yards. Those six passing touchdowns gave Judd a new career-high. Benson's leading receiver Rawley Evans was Judd's top target yet again, picking up 112 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Benson proved: they limited Globe to a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. The team can thank Andrew Workman for the heroic effort on defense: he. Benson didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 13.1.
Benson's defense didn't let Jaeger Franco, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Abraham Figuroa and Tyson Kilpatrick, who racked up five sacks between them. Benson got some further help from Workman: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Benson's victory bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Phoenix Christian, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Everything came up roses for Phoenix Christian against Benson when the teams last played back in August, as the squad secured a 49-14 victory. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Bobcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
