Two dominant signal callers in Gage Baker and Cameron Hackworth are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Paradise Honors Panthers will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Sabino Sabercats at 6:00 p.m. One thing working in Paradise Honors' favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last 11 matches.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Paradise Honors walked away with it. They enjoyed a cozy 72-56 victory over Valley Christian on Saturday. Yes, you read that score correctly, and yes, they were playing football.
It was another big night for Baker, who threw for 656 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 81.5% of his passes. Baker is absolutely dominating the passing touchdown category: he's posted at least three every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Morales, who picked up 287 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Sabino had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Saturday. They strolled past Mohave with points to spare, taking the game 30-16.
Sabino had a senior duo take command as Mason Cade gained 107 total yards and two touchdowns and Hackworth rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Sabino also got help from Shamar Berryhill who showed off his sure hands for 90 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Sabino's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. In that department, Cade was the leader with three sacks.
Paradise Honors' victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Sabino, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season.