The Front Row: On a roll?

BACK ON TRACK: Thanks to Sahuarita steamrolling Catalina and Arizona blowing out Washington, I haven’t given up hope on my ability to pick football games this year.

Was last week a fluke, or does it signal a genuine turnaround?

Tonight, the Sahuarita Mustangs (4-1, 1-1 4A-II Gila) host conference power Palo Verde (5-1, 2-0) at 7 p.m.

The Mustangs bounced back from the rough blowout loss at Santa Rita to pummel the Trojans behind Kody Day’s impressive rushing attack. When Allonte Singfield checked out of the game with an injured hand in the second quarter, Day responded with one of his best games in a Mustang uniform.

While last week’s 40-15 win turned the momentum around, injuries to Singfield and fellow seniors Tony Hilderbrand and Shaun Glover have thinned out the Mustangs’ roster at the worst possible time. Singfield still may find ways to contribute tonight, but his hand will still be awfully sore.

It will be impossible to completely shut down Palo Verde wide receiver Adam Hall — one of Arizona’s elite football recruits — but the Mustangs need to find a way to limit his touches. Hall is a constant threat to score each time he touches the ball.

Sahuarita might not have the overall athleticism of Palo Verde, but it does have home-field advantage and a fired-up crowd on its side. My head says to pick Palo Verde, but my heart says Sahuarita. Mustangs 31, Titans 30 in overtime.

The Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 Pac-10) somehow find themselves in a position to claim the outright conference lead if they can find a way past Stanford (3-3, 2-1) tomorrow.

While it’s easy to get carried away with Arizona’s impressive start, it’s imperative to remember that it came against one of college football’s easiest schedules. Imagine if the Wildcats had opened with last year’s slate (at BYU, Northern Arizona, New Mexico, at California). Would optimism be running so high?

However, that won’t come into play tomorrow. Granted, it’s never easy to battle any Pac-10 team on the road, but as I covered in Wednesday’s article, Stanford’s passing defense is abysmal. Just awful. This could be one of those record-setting days for Willie Tuitama, as long as he makes solid decisions and keeps his eyes peeled for big No. 48 streaking down the middle of the field.

As long as the Wildcats can tackle Toby Gerhart, they should come back to Tucson with the win. Wildcats 48, Cardinal 31.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747