After each having a week off, the Pinnacle Pioneers and the Hamilton Huskies will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pinnacle will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up eight points back in September, then bounced right back against Cesar Chavez last Friday. The Pioneers took their game with ease, bagging a 44-7 victory over the Champions. Given the Pioneers' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Champions are ranked 85th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gavin Hammond had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 101 yards and one touchdown.
Pinnacle didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Cesar Chavez to a completion percentage of just 50%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from three players: Kash Silva, Brayden Fricke, and Jai Ewing, who each logged one passes deflected. Pinnacle has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.58 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.58 in their last three games.
Meanwhile, Hamilton never let their opponents score last Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Valley Vista 54-0. The win was just business as usual for the Huskies, who after six games remain undefeated this season.
Hamilton found their leader in sophomore Jax Sculley, who threw for 339 yards and six TDs while completing 76.5% of his passes. Sculley is crushing it when it comes to passing touchdowns: he's passed for at least four every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Christian Riley, who picked up 113 receiving yards and three scores.
Hamilton's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB 8.5 times. It was truly a group effort as Nicolas Barrie, Derrick Leblanc Jr, and Austin Liburdi picked up two apiece.
Pinnacle's record is now 5-1. As for Hamilton, their record now sits at 6-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Pinnacle has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 188.2 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Hamilton has preferred to attack from the air: they average 328.5 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
