The Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils's homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the Scottsdale Christian Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 915 yards in their previous games.
Scottsdale Christian Academy is facing Santa Cruz Valley at the wrong time: Santa Cruz Valley suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They took a 29-22 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Roughriders. Despite 140 more yards than the Roughriders, the Dust Devils couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Nathan Harris, who threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Esequiel Perez, who picked up 141 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Scottsdale Christian Academy entered their tilt with Shadow Mountain on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 50-7 win over the Matadors. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by 30 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Sean Helgeson, who threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also rushed for 34 yards and two touchdowns. He has become a key player for Scottsdale Christian Academy: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least three passing touchdowns, but 0-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Preston Tucker, who rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
Scottsdale Christian Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 191 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Scottsdale Christian Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Ethan Davidson, Jack Filby, and Caleb Randall picked up one apiece.
Santa Cruz Valley's defeat ended a ten-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 8-2. As for Scottsdale Christian Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Santa Cruz Valley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 210.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Scottsdale Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 183.4. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Santa Cruz Valley took a serious blow against Scottsdale Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, falling 34-7. Will Santa Cruz Valley have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
