No. 9 Cactus Shadows held off a late comeback by No. 22 Tucson in a 38-14 victory at Rollin T. Gridley Stadium on Friday night.
After forcing a punt on defense, the Falcons’ rushing game drained most of the clock in the first quarter, capping it off with a 2-yard run by sophomore Jack Liefer for an early 7-0 lead.
After coming up with another stop on defense, Cactus Shadows scored on a 29-yard pass from junior Gage Millard to junior Max Wilson, doubling its lead.
The Falcons defense continued to give the Badger offense fits, constantly applying pressure and forcing sacks and bad throws.
The Falcons looked to add to their lead, but a fourth down stop by junior Jaiden Denson gave the ball back to the offense with a little over two minutes left.
The Badgers couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, giving the ball back to the Falcons in the form of a pick-six by sophomore Trey Lockett, giving his team a 21-0 halftime lead.
“I saw the out, I saw him throw it. I knew I had to get the ball,” Lockett said about his pick-six. “Once it was in my hands, once I caught it I knew I was gone.”
Junior Ezra Spivey started at quarterback for Tucson in the second half; you usually see Spivey lined up at wide receiver on offense.
The change didn’t do much as the Falcons defense forced a turnover on downs.
Early in the fourth, Cactus Shadows would get on the board again with an 8-yard touchdown run by sophomore Evan McGowan.
Spivey went back to wide receiver the next possession and did his thing, coming up with a big gain to get into the Cactus Shadows’ red zone. Spivey got the Badgers on the board with an 8-yard touchdown catch.
Spivey also made his presence known on defense, recovering a fumble to set up his offense in deep Cactus Shadows territory.
Junior Tavion Wells cut into the Falcons’ lead even more with a 23-yard touchdown run, bringing the Badgers within two scores.
Cactus Shadows added on a field goal, putting its lead back up to 17.
Cactus Shadows got on the board one more time on a long screen to senior Austin Wood for another Falcons touchdown.
The Badgers still had fight left in them. Wells returns it all the way into Falcons territory. The Badgers couldn’t capitalize on the field position, leaving the final score at 38-14.
What’s Next?
Both teams will wait to see who they’re playing next week in the first round of the playoffs. Both teams faced each other in the first round last year, with Cactus Shadows coming out on top, 56-35.
“We’re coming for playoffs, it’s that time of the season, we’re ready,” Lockett said about playoffs starting next week.
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