The Florence Gophers won the last time they faced the American Leadership Academy - Ironwood Warriors, and things went their way on Friday too. Florence sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 31-28 victory over American Leadership Academy - Ironwood. The win made it back-to-back wins for Florence.
Logan Stenson looked great while leading his team to the win, rushing for 88 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries.
American Leadership Academy - Ironwood's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Ayden Williams, who rushed for 63 yards and three touchdowns. Williams hasn't dropped below two rushing touchdowns for four straight games. Gabe Canter was another key contributor, picking up 39 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Florence's win was their fifth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 8-3. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Bourgade Catholic and 4-7 Safford (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 39.1% over those games). As for American Leadership Academy - Ironwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-5.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Florence will challenge Thatcher at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Thatcher is ranked 62nd, while Florence is ranked 83rd). As for American Leadership Academy - Ironwood, they will head out on the road to face off against Valley Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Valley Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven games -- so hopefully American Leadership Academy - Ironwood likes a good challenge.
