The Dobson Mustangs will take on the Paradise Valley Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Dobson hasn't scored more than seven points for three games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.
Dobson is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Sunnyslope on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Mustangs were dealt a 38-7 loss at the hands of the Vikings. The Mustangs were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-0.
Dobson's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Joriyn Winston, who picked up 86 receiving yards and one TD, and Preston Brunsvold, who threw for 107 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Paradise Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They pulled ahead with a 28-27 photo finish over Ironwood on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Trojans have posted since September 27, 2024.
Paradise Valley's win came from a few key players Dobson will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kaleb Simmons, who rushed for 72 yards and a pair of scores. He also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because Paradise Valley is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.
Paradise Valley's defense made their presence known, laying out Khavontae Paul three times. In that department, Bowen Meyer was the leader with two sacks. He has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last four times he's played. Alek Bringas was another major factor on D, forcing one fumble, making 17 total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defending two passes.
Paradise Valley's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-3. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to yards per carry: they averaged an imposing 6.16 yards per carry in those games compared to only 1.9 in the others. As for Dobson, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.
