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Jaden Pace (#3) strong arms a St. David defender.
The Ray football team improved to 2 – 1 on the season after its second-straight lopsided victory. The Cats followed up their 66 – 0 win against Baboquivari with a 52 – 20 rout of St. David last Friday night at home.
Junior quarterback Jaden Pace threw for 227 yards on 6-of-6 passing with three touchdowns, all of them to junior receiver Dakota Willis, who caught five of Pace’s six completions. Pace also had a team-high 91 rushing yards.
St. David trails Ray’s Jando Felix (#33).
Sophomore running back Jando Felix rushed for two touchdowns and Jayden Lagunas, also a sophomore, added another.
The Cats scored 24 points in the first quarter of Friday’s game on their way to a 36 – 14 lead at halftime. They outscored the Tigers 16 – 6 in the second half.
Willis was a beast for the Cats’ defense, finishing with a team-high 21 tackles. Christian Day and Eric Manriquez, a pair of sophomores, also totaled double digits in tackles with 13 and 10, respectively. Senior Gabriel Schwartz blocked a punt in the win.
Up next: Ray at Valley Union on Friday, Sept. 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Jayden Lagunas (#10) dodges a diving Tiger.
Tino Barragan (#11) comes in to assist Jayden Lagunas (#10).
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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