John Cascella is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com.

Dobson was scheduled to open up their October against the Mountain View Toros, but COVID had other plans. Following their homecoming-game overtime win, the Mustangs will be sidelined for the next ten days due to quarantine. 

The team now prepares for their home game on Oct. 15 against the 1-3 Westwood Warriors, Dobson’s first regional matchup of the year. On the bright side, the Mustang’s bye week couldn’t come at a better time. Because of the quarantine, the team wouldn’t have had enough players rostered to play that week. 

With COVID, Dobson’s varsity squad won’t be able to practice together until Oct. 11, leaving players to train and condition on their own. In the meantime, Dobson senior running back Mekhi Steuber will be working with his trainer from the offseason to, “keep [his] agility and stamina up.”

Dobson is coming off their biggest win of the year, beating the North Canyon Rattlers 33-32 in overtime. Three of the Mustangs’ biggest performances came from junior quarterback/kicker Jordan Legg, senior tight end Andre Palmer and Steuber. 

Legg finished the game 17-for-33 on completions with 328 passing yards and two touchdowns. On the kicking side of the ball, the quarterback went 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-4 on extra points. For his performance against North Canyon, Legg was awarded both the Arizona Cardinals’ High School Player of the Week and the Ed Doherty Medallion.

Palmer went off for 230 yards and one touchdown, catching all 12 of his targeted passes. Steuber ran all over the Rattlers, rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns, more than doubling North Canyon’s 47 yards on the ground. On nine penalties, the Mustangs were penalized 50 yards, just three more yards than the Rattlers would rush for.

“I was very excited to play Mountain View ... to see how we’d be able to perform after such a great win," Legg said on the cancellation. "COVID kind of pushed that away, but we’ve got to move onto the next game now.”

The 4-0 Mountain View Toros would’ve been a great test for the momentum-filled Mustangs. The Toros’ defense has allowed 14 points all year with those only being allowed in their last game. Dobson’s offense now prepares for a Warrior defense that has allowed less than 33 points only one time this season. 

 “The focal point is probably going to be on defense,” Palmer said about his expectations for the game. “Trying to keep the score total low; not let them get up and not let them get hope.”

Dobson has had recent success against the Warriors, beating them in each of their last two contests. Last year, Legg and the Mustangs beat the Warriors 23-12 with Legg going 17-for-27 on pass attempts, throwing for 206 yards with one touchdown. Palmer finished the game with eight receptions and 82 yards. In 2019, Dobson defeated Westwood 40-22. 

“We want to be looking good against what we consider to be our rivals in the Westwood Warriors,” Palmer said on the upcoming game. “Every year we look forward to playing them, it’s always a battle.” 

A key to watch for is how the Mustangs will perform after a 21-day hiatus from gameplay. A bye week is expected, but a COVID cancellation cannot be anticipated. 

“It’s just a business trip,” Legg added on his thoughts for the game. “We got to go take care of business.”