Friday Night Lights 2026: Edition 6

The Arizona Wildcats are coming off a shellacking of the Cincinnati Bearcats and the West Virginia Mountaineers over the past two weeks. They are now heading into a much needed bye week this weekend and are looking to get some rest and hoping some players are fully healed as Arizona gets ready to tackle the last half of the schedule. The ‘Cats had a pretty big recruiting weekend when Cincinnati was in town, with one of the 2027 class members taking his official visit to Tucson.

Arizona currently has 16 members of its 2027 class after losing the commitment of 3-star LB Rome Ewell and OL James Aloisio over the past two weeks. Heavy focus is being placed upon the 2028 cycle, with a few 2027 prospects thrown in, but enough about that right now. It’s time to delve into this edition of FNL.

Caden Jones, QB, Crean Lutheran (CA) Saints

• Last Game: Won 21-7 against the Tustin Tillers (Oct 2); Won 30-22 against the Capistrano Valley Cougars (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: 8-for-17, 81 yds; 4 car, 31 yds (Oct 2); 18-for-27, 222 yds, 2 TD; 8 car, 44 yds (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 129-for-194, 1,591 yds, 14 TD, 1 INT; 33 car, 237 yds, 3 TD

Notes: Tustin was a strange game statistically for Jones. He made is usual excellent throws, including an impressive pass and catch downfield to fellow commit Braylen Ross. However, I still enjoy watching him run. He is very dangerous with his legs and causes the defense to honor that danger.

Jones was back to normal stats against CV. He made some very nice passes downfield to Ross for a couple of touchdowns. The corner route to Ross for a score was very nice. And again, Jones is a dangerous player with his legs. If he isn’t going to run it, he is going to extend the play long enough to where the coverage breaks down in the secondary.

Wayne Shanks Jr., RB, Kinkaid (TX) Falcons

• Last Game: Won 48-17 against the Episcopal Knights (Oct 2); Won 45-36 against the St. Mark’s Lions (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 4-3
• Game Stats: 32 car, 281 yds, 6 TD; 2 rec, 38 yds (Oct 2); 29 car, 161 yds, 2 TD; 3 rec, 34 yds, 1 TD (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 136 car, 841 yds, 16 TD; 14 rec, 169 yds, 2 TD

Notes: Shanks had an insane night against Episcopal. You read those stats above correctly, he had six rushing touchdowns and almost 300 yards on the ground. This included a 95-yard touchdown run. Shanks has proved to be a very difficult individual to tackle, especially when he gets going, but there is another thing that caught my eye about his play. At about the 57-second mark, his highlights show him take a hand-off and bounce it outside to the left. Nothing special, except one thing: his running style and lower body are remarkably fluid and smooth. He is able to scoot behind his blockers further toward the sideline until the lane opens up, without losing a step, momentum or speed.

Against St. Mark’s, he accounted for another four touchdowns. He even had a 57-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. Shanks continues to show week-in and week-out how much of a weapon he is on a football field.

Curtis Zeno Jr., Paetow (TX) Panthers

• Last Game: Won 28-16 against the Morton Ranch Mavericks (Oct 1)
• Team Record: 2-4
• Game Stats: 24 car, 234 yds, 3 TD; 1 rec, -3 yds (Oct 1)
• Season Stats: 51 car, 385 yds, 3 TD; 3 rec, 69 yds, 1 TD

Notes: Morton Ranch was a breakout game for Zeno to say the least. It’s only one of his runs, but you can see below how quickly he hit the hole, flew through the running lane and was gone downfield. Excellent run by Zeno.

Braylen Ross, WR, Crean Lutheran (CA) Saints

• Last Game: Won 21-7 against the Tustin Tillers (Oct 2); Won 30-22 against the Capistrano Valley Cougars (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: 4 rec, 68 yds (Oct 2); 8 rec, 137 yds, 2 TD (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 60 rec, 850 yds, 7 TD

Notes: By Ross’s standards, he had a “meh” game against Tustin. However, on the first play you see below, he had an amazing catch downfield over a defender. Great pass by Jones and great job by Ross to time his jump and highpoint the ball.

He had a normal, explosive game against CV. His corner route for a touchdown was perfectly executed. And he managed to turn a short curl route into a big gain, breaking numerous tackles. On his final touchdown, he delayed his start out of the route by a second, then blasted past the secondary and got behind the defense for an easy score.

Max Markofski, TE, Mission Viejo (CA) Diablos

• Last Game: Won 42-14 against the Edison Chargers (Oct 2); Won 27-26 against the Yorba Linda Mustangs (Oct 8)
• Team Record: 6-1
• Game Stats: 1 rec, 15 yds (Oct 2) 1 rec, 6 yds (Oct 8)
• Season Stats: 3 rec, 32 yds

Notes: It’s great to see Markofski getting involved in the passing game. Not much film on him from the past two weeks, but his 15-yarder against Edison is below. Showed some pretty nice straightline burst.

Mason Joshua, OL, Forney (TX) Jackrabbits

• Last Game: Won 70-14 against the Mesquite Horn Jaguars (Oct 8)
• Team Record: 2-4

Notes: Not much film on Joshua against Horn. He’s big #77 playing left tackle in the film. It’s the same play three different times.

Ahzan Bacote, DL, Cornerstone Christian (TX) Warriors

• Last Game: Lost 35-28 to the St. John’s Cadets (Oct 3); Won 35-21 against the Washington Tigers (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 FR (Oct 3); 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 42 tackles, 15 TFL, 10.5 sacks, 1 QB Hurry, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 PBU

Notes: Bacote was a bulldozer against St. John’s. Throughout the game, he wreaked havoc on the offensive line, getting into the backfield on multiple occasions or making the tackle at the line of scrimmage. He’s also deceptively fast. His scoop-and-score during the field goal was impressive.

Bacote continued his trend of bullying offensive lineman into the following week against Washington. There were a few plays shown where he easily beat his tackle. He made a very nice play on his PBU, pulling up his rush once he realized where the QB was going with the ball. He jumped up and swatted it down for a nice play.

Logan Draper, DL, Westfield (TX) Mustangs

• Last Game: Won 42-6 against the Spring Lions (Oct 2); Won 37-6 against the Nimitz Cougars (Oct 8)
• Team Record: 4-2
• Game Stats: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack (Oct 2); 7 tackles, 2 TFL (Oct 8)
• Season Stats: 25 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 7 QB Hurries

Notes: Draper is always a fun watch. He is aggressive in his pursuit of the QB/ball carrier, which fits right into a Danny Gonzales defense. His sack against Spring came with him lined up on the edge and weaving his way through the o-line quickly closing in the QB for the sack.

Against Nimitz, he again showed the solid push he can provide against the offensive line. In his short highlights against the Cougars, Draper got great push and disrupted the run almost immediately.

Dieter Lotulelei, Edge, West (UT) Panthers

• Last Game: Won 63-0 against the West Jordan Jaguars (Oct 1); Won 52-0 against the Granger Lancers (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 9-0
• Game Stats: 3 tackles, 2 TFL, 8 QB Hurries (Oct 1); 6 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks, 3 QB Hurries, 1 FF (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 37 tackles, 23 TFL, 10 sacks, 35 QB Hurries, 1 FF, 1 FR

Notes: I wish there was some film of Lotulelei from this past two weekends, but alas there isn’t. I would’ve enjoyed watching him solidify his nightmare status to the opposing QB.

Davon Smith, LB, Westfield (TX) Mustangs

• Last Game: Won 42-6 against the Spring Lions (Oct 2); Won 37-6 against the Nimitz Cougars (Oct 8)
• Team Record: 4-2
• Game Stats: 9 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks (Oct 2); 14 tackles, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks (Oct 8)
• Season Stats: 57 tackles, 12 TFL, 3.5 sacks

Notes: It’s encouraging to see that Smith is starting to get into the offensive backfield more and make plays. Against Spring, Smith showed off his speed, flying into the backfield on multiple plays. It’s quite impressive how fast he can read a play and burst through a lane. He also had nice tackling form, getting leverage against the ball carrier and stopping any momentum.

Smith was also a major problem for the Nimitz offense. He was a tackling machine, racking up double digit tackles and consistently living the offensive backfield. It is worth noting that a lot of Smith’s tackle are at, or just past, the line of scrimmage.

Evan Mack, CB, Crean Lutheran (CA) Saints

• Last Game: Won 21-7 against the Tustin Tillers (Oct 2); Won 30-22 against the Capistrano Valley Cougars (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: 5 tackles (Oct 2); 7 tackles, 2 PBU (Oct 9)
• Season Stats: 53 tackles, 1 INT, 4 PBU, 1 FR

Notes: Didn’t get to see much of Mack in the highlights below. However, he racked up a decent amount of tackles, including a good one you can see below, and broke up two passes as well against CV.

Luke Stevens, S, Fort Worth Christian (TX) Cardinals

• Last Game: Lost 37-7 to the All Saints Saints (Oct 2); Lost 56-21 to the Midland Christian Mustangs (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 2-6
• Game Stats: N/A
• Season Stats: N/A

Notes: I was able to find really any stats, but I did find some film of Stevens against All Saints. He appears to have had a solid game on defense. He made some nice plays against the run and seems to have good tackling form against a charging running back. He once again made a big play for the Cardinals’ special teams unit, which is becoming a common theme for him this season.

Jaylen Oliver, S, Westfield (TX) Mustangs

• Last Game: Won 42-6 against the Spring Lions (Oct 2); Won 37-6 against the Nimitz Cougars (Oct 8)
• Team Record: 4-2
• Game Stats: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT (Oct 2); 2 tackles, 1 INT (Oct 8)
• Season Stats: 20 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 3 PBU, 1 FR

Notes: Oliver is another player that is starting to make more and more plays as the season goes on. As you can see against Nimitz below, Oliver covers a large amount of ground, doing a great job of reading the QB’s eyes and know where the receivers are. As he is reading the QB, he constantly moves and adjusts, putting himself in position to snag an interception.

Ty Johnson, WR, Crean Lutheran (CA) Saints

• Last Game: Won 21-7 against the Tustin Tillers (Oct 2); Won 30-22 against the Capistrano Valley Cougars (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: N/A
• Season Stats: 11 rec, 134 yds, 1 TD

Notes: There were no stats nor film of Johnson.

Trey Smith, WR, Williams Field (AZ) Black Hawks

• Last Game: Won 47-6 against the Saguaro Sabercats (Oct 2)
• Team Record: 4-2
• Game Stats: N/A
• Season Stats: 9 rec, 111 yds; 1 car, 9 yds

Notes: I was unable to find any stats or film for Smith

Jacob Whitehead, CB, Crean Lutheran (CA) Saints

• Last Game: Won 21-7 against the Tustin Tillers (Oct 2); Won 30-22 against the Capistrano Valley Cougars (Oct 9)
• Team Record: 5-2
• Game Stats: N/A
• Season Stats: N/A

Notes: There were no stats nor film of Whitehead. He did take his official visit to Tucson during the Cincinnati game.