Ironwood has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will welcome the Willow Canyon Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Ironwood is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Desert Vista on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Ironwood lost 47-26 to Desert Vista.
Ironwood might have lost, but man, Khavontae Paul was a machine: he rushed for 117 yards, and also threw for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Paul's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 117 rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Ironwood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 179 rushing yards in eight consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Willow Canyon lost to Apollo at home by a 38-20 margin on Friday.
Loss or not, Willow Canyon got some senior leadership from Roman Thuyns and Tyus Dragon. Thuyns threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns, while Dragon picked up 89 receiving yards and two touchdowns. What's more, Thuyns also racked up 52 rushing yards, the most he's had since back in August. Willow Canyon also got a significant boost from Joel Cooper, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 97 yards.
Ironwood dropped their record down to 4-4 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Willow Canyon, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Paul and Cooper. Paul has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 162.2 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Cooper has averaged 95.8 rushing yards per game this season.
Ironwood came up short against Willow Canyon in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 15-10. Will Ironwood have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
