Arizona Western football vs. Scottsdale preview

(9) Scottsdale at (5) Arizona Western

Kickoff: 7 p.m. today, Veterans Memorial Stadium

Media: TV- Time Warner Cable Ch. 74; Radio - 560 KBLU; Internet - www.azwestern.edu/athletics

Last game: The Artichokes topped Eastern Arizona, ranked No. 8 at the time, 34-40. ... The Matadors won 32-14 at Pima.

Records: Artichokes (3-0 overall, 1-0 Western States Football League); Matadors (2-0, 1-0)

Player to watch: Quarterback Jordan Gehrke leads the WSFL in passing with 877 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions on the season. ... Sophomore DeSean Marin had 110 yards on 18 carries — the biggest Matador rushing performance of the season, mostly in the second half. He will take over the starting job.

AWC coach Tom Minnick's comments: “We're going to have to stop their passing attack. We recruited their quarterback that starts for them from Notre Dame Prep. He's a good football player and does some good things with the ball. We have to get a pass rush on him, make him pay, try to confuse him a little bit in the secondary and make him throw some picks.”

The lowdown: Minnick said the Matadors are looking like their old selves — at least for a half, anyway. He said he was pleased with the way they battled back from a 14-11 second-half deficit — they didn't trail in a game last year until the El Toro Bowl, a loss that gave East Mississippi the national championship. ... The Matadors are playing their first home game of the season, nearly a month after their scheduled home opener was canceled. They'll face a team that puts up the yards — 429 per game for an average of 35.6 this season — and gives up gaudy numbers as well (344, 22.3). ... The Artichokes don't run often, but when they do it's with Chris Campbell, who has two scores and 115 yards on 27 carries. ... The Matadors have found their starting quarterback in Tanner McEvoy, who took every snap for the Matadors against Pima after splitting time under center with two other quarterbacks in Week 1. ... .The Matadors won 55-21 in Scottsdale last year and have won four straight in the series. ... The shuffling along the defensive line continues. Kevin Forston will remain at nose tackle, but Navarro transfer Chris Cormier will get his first start as a Matador, as will Anthony Olobia. ... Scottsdale hasn't played in Yuma since 2008.