For the first time this season, Valley Vista will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Hamilton Huskies at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
As a matter of fact, Valley Vista put up the most points they have all season on Friday. They fell just short of Mountain Ridge by a score of 41-39. The loss continues a trend for the Monsoon in their meetings with the Mountain Lions: they've now lost six in a row.
Damir Ilicic
| 09/05/25 @ Centennial | 105 |
| 09/19/25 vs Shadow Ridge | 249 |
| 08/29/25 @ O'Connor | 259 |
| 09/12/25 @ Desert Vista | 373 |
| 09/26/25 vs Mountain Ridge | 462 |
Defeat or not, Valley Vista got some senior leadership from Arie Callwood and Damir Ilicic. Callwood picked up 215 receiving yards and four scores, while Ilicic threw for 462 yards and five TDs while completing 73.7% of his passes. Those 462 passing yards set a new season-high mark for Ilicic. A healthy portion of Ilicic's aerial production (120 yards to be exact) also went to Joseph Watts-Diver.
Meanwhile, Hamilton faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Huskies claimed a resounding 50-10 victory over the Coyotes. The Huskies' win was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Hamilton's win came from a few key players Valley Vista will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Skyler Cole, who rushed for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also picked up 41 receiving yards and one score. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 101.8 rushing yards per game. Roye Oliver III was another key player, picking up 187 receiving yards and four TDs.
Valley Vista's loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Hamilton, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Ilicic and Jax Sculley. Ilicic just won't slow down this season and has thrown 13 touchdowns while averaging 289.6 passing yards per game. Sculley has been a dominant force too and has thrown 24 touchdowns (and and only 4 pick) while averaging 320 passing yards per game.
Valley Vista was dealt a bruising 58-0 defeat at the hands of Hamilton when the teams last played back in September of 2024. Can the Monsoon avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
