The Cactus Shadows Falcons will square off against the Tucson High Magnet School Badgers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Cactus Shadows beat Chaparral 21-14. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Falcons.
Donivan Dixon
| 09/26/25 vs Paradise Valley | 162.4 |
| 09/19/25 @ Camelback | 149.4 |
| 09/12/25 @ Eastmark | 139.3 |
| 10/17/25 vs Notre Dame Prep | 133 |
| 10/23/25 @ Chaparral | 124.8 |
| + 4 more games |
It was another big night for Donivan Dixon, who threw for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also rushed for 77 yards. His passing game has become a key predictor of Cactus Shadows' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 0-4 otherwise. A healthy portion of Dixon's aerial production (80 yards to be exact) went to Alex Dafnis.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Cactus Shadows proved: they limited Chaparral to a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Clayton Pfaff for the heroic effort on defense: he. Cactus Shadows' ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.5.
Cactus Shadows didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of James Wade and Tavion Johnson. Johnson is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in each of the last four games he's played.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Tucson High Magnet School, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They put the hurt on Ironwood Ridge with a sharp 36-12 win on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Badgers considering their nine-point performance the matchup before.
Cactus Shadows better keep an eye on Derek Mesa. He was instrumental in Tucson High Magnet School's win, throwing for 332 yards and three TDs while picking up 14.4 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 37 yards and one score. What's more, Mesa racked up 148.1 passer rating, the most he's had since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Makoa Pena, who rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Tucson High Magnet School's defense and their 4.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Miles Jose and Devante Cota, who racked up four sacks between them. Dominic Drow was another major factor on D, forcing one fumble and making 12 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Tucson High Magnet School now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Cactus Shadows, they now also have a winning record of 5-4.
