With a playoff game on the line, Cactus rose to the challenge on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the ALA - Gilbert North Eagles 38-35. Winning may never get old, but the Cobras sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Cactus' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Julian (Juju) Stubblefield led the charge by picking up 216 receiving yards. (Juju) Stubblefield showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 51 yards. Antonio Casias was another key player, having thrown for 328 yards and onetouchdown.
Cactus didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. Gabriel Sotelo picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. Cactus got some further help from Talon Staggs: he picked up 0.5 sacks and made nine total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Despite the loss, ALA - Gilbert North still got an impressive performance from Isaac Massey, who picked up 175 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Conner White, who threw for 240 yards and a touchdown.
Cactus is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.0 points per game. As for ALA - Gilbert North, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-4.
Cactus will host Desert Edge at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Desert Edge will roll in looking for their fourth straight win, something Cactus surely won't give up without a fight. ALA - Gilbert North does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
