Sahuaro hasn't had much luck against Ironwood Ridge recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Sahuaro Cougars will head out to face off against the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Thursday, Sahuaro made easy work of Cholla and carried off a 35-14 victory. That looming 35-14 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Cougars yet this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sahuaro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Isaac Lugo, who rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. Lugo's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 136 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Manzo Blackwell, who threw for 140 yards and three touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Sahuaro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in five consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, everything went Ironwood Ridge's way against Douglas on Friday as Ironwood Ridge made off with a 35-9 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Nighthawks.
A big part of Ironwood Ridge's victory came down to the chemistry between Jaiden Martinez and his top target Matthew Kroner. Martinez threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per attempt while Kroner picked up 214 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Kroner's longest reception was for an incredible 80 yards.
Sahuaro's record now sits at 3-1. As for Ironwood Ridge, their record is now 3-1.
Sahuaro was taken down by Ironwood Ridge 44-7 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Sahuaro, Dominic Norris (who rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 238 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
