Mojave faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Rattlers came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 27-16. For the Rattlers, this counts as revenge for the 42-14 victory the Bulldogs walked away with the last time they faced one another back in October of 2023.
A big part of Mojave's win came down to the chemistry between S'Marion Coleman and his top target RaJahn Butler. Coleman picked up 247 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns while Butler rushed for 144 yards and two scores while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Coleman was no stranger to the big play, cutting upfield on a catch that went for 65 yards.
Mojave didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Elijah Richard and Emari Richard, who each picked up one interception apiece. Another thorn in Centennial's side was Zechariah Johnson, who picked up two sacks and made 20 total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Despite the loss, Centennial still got an impressive performance from Brogan Church, who rushed for 158 yards and one TD while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Church is becoming a predictor of the Bulldogs' success: when he posts at least 80 rushing yards the team is 3-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't).
Mojave has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 28.8 points over those games. As for Centennial, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.
Looking ahead, Mojave will take on Palo Verde at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Rattlers are facing the Panthers at the right time seeing as the Panthers are stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Centennial, they will venture away from home to face off against Somerset Academy Losee at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Bulldogs will be up against the Lions' rather soft defense (which has allowed 40.25 points per matchup), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
