The Benjamin Franklin Chargers will head out on the road to face off against the Morenci Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Benjamin Franklin is ranked 75th, while Morenci is ranked 65th).
After a string of five wins, Benjamin Franklin's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They were outmatched by Valley Christian on the road and fell 42-14.
Despite their defeat, Benjamin Franklin saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ashton Grant, who rushed for 91 yards on only seven carries, and also caught a touchdown, was perhaps the best of all. Ridge Allen was another key contributor, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Morenci had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They walked away with a 21-14 win over Thatcher.
Valley Christian's win bumped their season record to 9-1 while Benjamin Franklin's loss dropped theirs to 7-3.
Friday's match might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Benjamin Franklin has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 199.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Morenci struggles in that department as they've been even better at 210.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
