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Superior’s Spirit Line were ready and able to cheer on the Panthers at Friday night’s home game.
James Carnes | Sun
Superior’s wide receiver Michael Salazar carries the ball towards the end zone evading the charging defenders. James Carnes | Sun
Superior Sun
The sixth-ranked Panthers won their fourth-straight game last Friday night and remain undefeated after defeating winless Arete Prep, 55 – 6.
Superior has steamrolled its first four opponents, who have combined for only three wins so far this season. But don’t blame the Panthers for making it look easy; they can only play the teams on their schedule, in order, and so far they’re doing what they should – winning by large margins and leaving no doubt.
In Friday’s win against the Chargers, Nicolaus Cruz threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. The junior signal caller now has nine passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns on the season. On Friday he was 5-of-6 passing for 140 yards and rushed for 71 yards on only three carries.
Senior captain Elias Olmos added three touchdowns of his own – one rushing and two receiving – in the victory. He had two catches for 82 yards in addition to a six-yard touchdown run.
Steven Ybarra and Marcos Bueno each had a touchdown in the game.
Jesus Castellanos led the Panthers on defense, recording a team-high seven tackles. Austin Navarrette and Dominic Perea each finished with six tackles against the Chargers. Perea and Olmos also recorded interceptions for Superior, which has only allowed eight points per game in its four wins this season.
The Panthers travel to Ray this Friday to take on the Bearcats in the annual Copper Helmet game. The Cats are coming off a bye and have had two weeks to prepare for the game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 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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