by 
Copper Basin News
The eighth-ranked Ray Bearcats jumped out to an early lead against Duncan last Friday night and never looked back in a 33 – 20 victory.
It was the ‘Cats second win in-a-row after a season opening loss versus fourth-ranked Pima.
The Bearcats play an important game this week at Superior. It’s big game for several reasons.
The first is, the fifth-ranked Panthers are much improved, as their 3 – 1 record would indicate. They suffered their first loss of the season last week at Pima, falling to the fourth-ranked Roughriders, 56 – 26.
The contest on Friday is certain to have playoff implications. With both teams sporting very similar records with only one loss, the winner of this game figures to get a leg up in the power point rankings that will be released by the AIA in October.
Finally, the Copper Helmet Trophy is on the line. A tradition started in the 1960’s, the Copper Helmet Trophy is awarded to the winning team in this Copper Corridor rivalry between mining town schools.
The Bearcats won the Copper Helmet Trophy last year, defeating Superior, 49 – 8.
The game Friday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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