Matador football vs. Eastern Arizona preview
(2) Arizona Western at Eastern Arizona
Kickoff: 6 p.m. today, John Mickelson Field, Thatcher
Media: Radio - 560 KBLU; Internet - www.azwestern.edu/athletics
Last game: The Matadors routed Scottsdale 63-38 in their home opener. ... The Gila Monsters lost 34-21 at Mesa.
Records: AWC (3-0 overall, 2-0 Western States Football League); EAC (2-2 overall, 0-2 WSFL)
Players to watch: QB Tanner McEvoy torched the Scottsdale defense for 416 yards on just 20 completions and threw for five touchdowns. He was both the NJCAA and WSFL offensive player of the week. ... While the EAC offense has failed to produce yards, Quinton Brown has been effective at pressuring opposing teams' quarterbacks this year.
The lowdown: The blowout of Scottsdale, ranked No. 9 at the time, shot the Matadors up three spots in the latest NJCAA poll. The Gila Monsters were No. 9 two weeks, then dropped to No. 18 after losing to Scottsdale. They fell out of the poll after the upset to the Thunderbirds. ... The last time the teams played in Thatcher was coach Tom Minnick's first win against the Gila Monsters, 27-2 in 2009. That was AWC's first win at EAC since 2002. ... DeSean Martin has established himself as the No. 1 back for the Matadors, running for 179 yards. He ran, threw for and caught a touchdown. ... Markeith Ambles proved to be McEvoy's favorite target, catching 10 balls for 266 yards and two touchdowns. ... Devin Mohn is averaging just less than 50 yards of rushing per game for the Gila Monsters, leading the team. ... Deron Thompson has been taking most of the Eastern snaps but has completed 6 of 20 passes for 127 yards.
— by Edward Carifio
