After a brutal road trip to Chandler, the road for Corona del Sol doesn’t get much easier.

 

This Friday, the Aztecs will take a half an hour bus ride into Gilbert to face off against Perry High School.

 

Throughout the first couple of weeks, the Aztecs have shown some good and some bad. In their home opener against Mesa, the Aztecs found themselves losing 10-7 heading into the half. With a stellar performance from the defense, the Jackrabbits were unable to capitalize on any of their drives in the second half, giving the Aztecs a 24-10 victory to start off the season.

 

The following week, the Aztecs played their first road test vs Chandler High School, in a game the Aztecs wished they had a second chance. The Aztecs didn’t show many signs of life. Chandler outgained Corona del Sol 515 to 62 in yards and 50-0 on the scoreboard. Despite the rough performance, the Aztecs will head back to the drawing board to prepare for their best game of the season vs Perry.

 

Aztecs head coach Jake Barro said the most important issue that they need to address is just finding their identity.

 

“We just need to find our identity. We've had two games so far, one we lost to a really tough team, the other we beat in a close game. We’re not there yet. We're a really young team so hopefully it will click this week,” Barro said.

 

As for Perry High School, they’re in hopes of continuing their undefeated season. The Pumas are off to a great start, defeating Spring Valley (NV) 19-14 and Desert Vista 28-7.

 

“They’re pretty disciplined," Barro said. "They're a good team and also well coached. They do things well and they’ve got some speed. So we have to play really disciplined football ourselves to beat them."

 

When speaking to Aztecs offensive lineman Keona Peat, the thing that stood out the most about the Pumas was their defensive line and the havoc they create in the trenches.

 

Senior lineman and future Air Force Falcon Aidan Herring leads the charge on defense.

 

“If the o-line stays down and we’re going over all we can practice and have all the slides right, we can be able to hold them off,” said Peat.

 

On the offensive side, Junior quarterback Connor Ackerley’s biggest key to the game is being able to control the line of scrimmage.

 

“Athletically we're right there, we can do plenty athletically. We just have to control their front seven, so if we can run the ball, then I think a lot of things can open up for us," Ackerley said. 

 

On the ground, the Aztecs haven’t been able to do much. Their leading rushers Johnathan Kubat and Ackerley have combined for just 63 yards through the teams first two games. Most of the yards have gone through the air, with Ackerley throwing for 142 yards per game.

 

Receiver Owen Janssen has contributed the most with 109 yards, followed right behind by Raiden Vines-bright with 80 yards. 

The last time these schools met was back in 2017, when the Pumas pounced on the Aztecs by the score of 70-24. This time around, the Aztecs have revenge on their minds in hopes of playing spoiler to the Puma’s first home game.