Alex Chenevey is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cactus Shadows for AZpreps365.com. 

On a warm Thursday night at Falcon Field, Cactus Shadows gained its third win of the season, defeating the Deer Valley Skyhawks 41-21.

The Falcons offense has been firing on all cylinders, as it put up a season-high 41 points. A key to the Falcons' recent domination is their balanced approach. The run game on Thursday came into its own to complement the passing game.

“We’re finding a run game.” Cactus Shadows head coach Chris Dixon said. “I think that’s one thing we didn’t have the first three weeks, and the last two weeks we’ve found a little bit of a run game which is now creating some more things on offense, which I love.”

The running game was spearheaded by two seniors, Warren Smith and Jaivon Swecker. Smith followed up his solid game last week and had 96 yards from scrimmage, while Swecker punched in a hat-trick of touchdowns, all in the red zone.

“We went against a team that wasn’t really focused on the run game and more focused on the passing game,” Swecker said. “So it gave me an opportunity to be able to gain some yardage, score some touchdowns and have some fun on the field.”

Quarterback Donivan Dixon also had a solid performance, throwing touchdown passes to three receivers. Noah Brouse chipped in with his best performance of the season with 136 receiving yards, including a 74-yard catch-and-run that helped ice the win for the Falcons.

While the Falcons went pass heavy to start the season, balanced playcalling is leading to great results.

“I think playcalling is getting between 50-50 between run and pass, which is going great; the run game is offering us a chance to do that,” Dixon said.

Senior defensive tackle Dillon Roberts didn't play because of a bruised rib, but Roberts still was somewhat satisfied with the defensive performance, which included forcing two turnovers on downs and a fumble recovery.

“We played good, we balled out," Roberts said. "We let up a couple, with some QB (quarterback) sneaks leading to that, but, oh well, now we gotta get past that and move on to the next one.”

Cactus Shadows has a bye week coming up and then will go on the road to face the undefeated Skyline Coyotes. A key to victory will have to be its resurgent running game led by Smith and Swecker.

“Warren came in recently and he’s been showing that he’s one of the top running backs in our division,” Swecker said. “And me and him going back and forth, whenever we get tired is going to help us keep pushing down the field, still (having) energy to get the yardage and get in the end zone.”