It was senior night for St. Mary’s, but Cactus Shadows spoiled the fun as they defeated the Knights 41-7 Thursday night at Phoenix College.

            “I really think this senior class has been very coachable,” St. Mary’s head coach Tom Brittain said. “They’ve helped make football fun at practice again…I really loved coaching these kids.”

            The Knights had momentum coming into the game as they were coming off their first victory of the season, a 35-28 home win over Shadow Mountain. However, Cactus Shadows established its dominance from the start.

            Falcons linebacker Matt Kuhlmann recovered a Knights fumble on the game’s opening drive. The offense then capitalized on its second play of the game, a 60-yard catch and run by receiver Nicky Wintermeyer, putting Cactus Shadows up 7-0 early.

            The Falcons' defense continued to dominate, keeping the Knights' rushing attack at bay and scoring a touchdown on linebacker Mason Russo’s 35-yard interception return. The pick-six came one play after the St. Mary’s defense forced a turnover on downs.

            “We talk to the kids every week that there’s six to eight plays that are going to make a huge difference in the game,” Cactus Shadows head coach Mike Hudnutt said. “I think the turnovers, the interceptions and then the big runs made a huge difference for us tonight.”

            The Falcons offense started to deploy a three-headed rushing attack in the second quarter, as Maverick Cashman, Jaxen Schneider and Russo all contributed to the high-octane running game.

            Cashman ran for more than 30 yards alone on Cactus Shadows’ third touchdown drive, which concluded with a 10-yard run by Schneider off a pitch play to the right side.

            St. Mary’s responded on offense behind quarterback Jessie Parada-Gonzales, who ran for a first down and passed for two. The 52-yard drive halted just 13 yards from the end zone, as the Falcons defense forced a turnover on downs.

            The Falcons took their 21-0 lead to halftime and only continued to pull away in the second half.

             Russo’s 44-yard run up the middle pushed their lead to four touchdowns midway through the third, and after forcing a three-and-out on defense, the rushing attack went back to work.

            Schneider, Russo and Cashman all had first down carries on Cactus Shadows’ ensuing drive, with Cashman coming up a yard short of a touchdown in the final play of the quarter.

            Quarterback Cole Cucitrone scored from a yard out to start the fourth quarter, extending the Falcons lead to 35-0.

            “The fact that we can spread it out is very important,” Hudnutt said, “it’s always important when you can mix the ball around.”

            Cactus Shadows went on to score 41 points, but the Knights did get the game’s final touchdown.

            Sophomore quarterback Alex Pacheco came in for Parada-Gonzales in the offense’s final drive and marched the Knights down the field. He completed pass after pass, finishing off with a touchdown throw to receiver Dominik Castro on an out route to the front-right of the end zone.

            That was the game’s last intriguing play, as the Falcons burned the clock to secure the road win.

            Senior lineman Nick France expressed his thanks after the game for the home crowd support on senior night, despite the lopsided result.

            “I’ll always remember no matter what the outcome is out here on the field, win or loss, we always have such a great community out backing us,” France said. “They love us after everything we do.”

            St. Mary’s dropped to 1-7 with the loss and will visit Peoria October 20th at 7 p.m.

            Cactus Shadows improved to 5-3 with the victory and hosts Thunderbird October 20th at 7 p.m.