Tanner Tortorella is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Campo Verde for AZPreps365.com.

The Campo Verde Coyotes (1-1) will travel down to Tucson to face off against Ironwood Ridge (1-1) in a highly contested Week 3 matchup this Friday, Sept. 17.

Campo Verde is coming off their first win of the season last week against Cactus Shadow, where they won 31-12. Even in a win, head coach Ryan Freeman still saw many moments that need tightening up coming into this week.

"We did a really good at shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half," Freeman said on the Varsity Sports Show on Saturday, Sept. 11. 

Freeman likes his players to play with emotions but does not want them to get carried away to lose focus with the game ahead. Especially heading into this week against an opponent the Coyotes know well. 

The last time these two teams played was in the 2019-20 season, where Campo Verde came away with the 28-14 at Ironwood Ridge. While the rosters vastly differ, Freeman sees many of the same challenges that Ironwood Ridge will bring into this week's matchup.

"They're tough," Freeman said to AZPreps365. "They're going to continue to play, they're going to continue to go after you. What they do, they do very well, and they aren't going to quit."

Freeman highlighted the coaching of Ironwood Ridge head coach James Hardy, who took over the program in 2019, as his team will provide a test for this current Coyotes team. This Nighthawks team could cause a plethora of problems for Campo Verde, one being quarterback pressure.

Ironwood Ridge recorded five sacks in their first game this season, highlighting their dangerous pass rush. Campo has faced a lot of cover one defense with eight opponents near the line of scrimmage, and Freeman sees it as an area that needs improvement.

"We have done okay — we haven't done good," Freeman said on responding to the blitzes. "We just got to communicate across the board and just be prepared for anything."

He said said that even the best game plans can fail in a heartbeat, so staying alert and being ready will be critical. Senior quarterback Reilly Garcia shares the same mindset and reaffirms his faith in the offense to combat the pressure.

"I trust my o-line and my receivers to get open," Garcia said.

A second-year varsity starter, Garcia has shown considerable improvements in different parts of his game in this young season. Two specific things he's felt better about are reading the defense and feeling the pocket pressure to see whether to run or not has been a significant advancement in his game. Both of those will be needed down in Tucson.

"We just got to keep establishing the run early and make sure we come out to play in the first quarter," Garcia said.

Garcia this year has thrown for 356 yards and three touchdowns in two games while tacking up 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground, a part of his game Freeman told him to focus on after last year. 

"My big complaint on Reilly is that when there were opportunities to run last year, he didn't necessarily take those opportunities," Freeman said. "This year, he's done much better with that, and running with heart and determination."

They will need that determination from the offense without their lead rusher from last year, graduated running back Caden Calloway, who rushed for almost 1,000 yards in 2020. However, Freeman so far has liked what he has seen from the offense.

"We are much more balanced," Freeman said. "You look at last game, we threw for over 200 yards and we had seven different kids catch the ball. We ran for over 200 yards and we had six different kids run the ball."

Freeman explained that the running by committee attack from Campo Verde has been more challenging for defenses to plan against than focusing on one person. Junior running back Amado Santiago, senior wide receiver Jersey Blassingame and others have all come together to produce a well-equipped offense to begin the year.

While the offense looks prepared to face off against that Nighthawk's pressure defense, Campo Verde's defense might face some adversity with Ironwood Ridge junior running back Jordan Thomas.

"[Thomas] plays running back, he plays the slot — he is a dynamic player," Freeman said. "Very quick, great change of direction, so we got to be aware of that."

Freeman continued how they still have to play their style of play and not get carried away with the explosive play of Thomas. Thomas and senior quarterback Tyler Haynie have been a deadly duo for Ironwood Ridge this year. Those two are a cause of concern for the Coyotes, but senior linebacker Matthew Reising reiterated the coach's sentiment.

"We'll just play how we play," Reising said. "Inside, we're pretty good on the run, outside runs, we got that [on] lockdown."

Reising points to Campo's 3-4 scheme as a notable factor in the defensive success this season. The senior linebacker leads the team in tackles and has doubled his tackle average from last year, going from 4.8 to 10 tackles a game. He credits his work in the offseason for that jump.

"I've been trying to read gaps better, hit gaps when I see them, and be more aggressive," Reising said. "Can't be too over aggressive, so just going at the right time."

His work has been a big part of Campo's defensive success, but others have contributed as well. One, for example, being senior cornerback Connor Calloway, who has two interceptions early on in the season. Calloway and the rest of the cornerbacks will need to slow down an explosive Nighthawk offense that has scored 48 points in a single game.

If Campo Verde can not contain the duo of Thomas and Haynie, it could lead to a tough Friday night for the Coyotes down in Tucson.