The Saguaro Sabercats will take on the Liberty Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Saguaro: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while Liberty has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road dating back to last season.
Having struggled with six losses in a row, Saguaro finally turned things around against Chaparral on Friday. They strolled past the Firebirds with points to spare, taking the game 35-21.
Saguaro can attribute much of their success to Marcel Jones, who threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.9% of his passes, and Elias Johnson, who rushed for 201 yards while picking up 11.2 yards per carry. Johnson was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 58 yards. Tristan Armstrong was Jones' top target, picking up 50 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Liberty faced Salpointe Catholic in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Liberty walked away with a 34-24 victory over Salpointe Catholic.
Liberty's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hayden Fletcher led the charge by throwing for 278 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 74 yards. Those 74 rushing yards gave Fletcher a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Dominic Lombardo, who rushed for 38 yards and three touchdowns.
Liberty's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB nine times. The heavy lifting was done by Paz St John and Cannon Garday, who racked up four sacks between them. Garday is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Liberty got some further help from Zeth Thues: he picked up a sack and made six total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Saguaro's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Liberty, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Saguaro was dealt a bruising 31-3 defeat at the hands of Liberty in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Saguaro, Navi Bruzon (who rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns while completing 78.9% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
