The North Canyon Rattlers defeated the Agua Fria Owls 28-21 Friday night in a Class 5A non-region game at Agua Fria.

The Owls took the lead on their first possession with an 8-yard rushing TD from sophomore running back Nicolas Murguia. Murguia scored two of three touchdowns for the Owls and rushed for more than 80 yards in the first half.

The Owls defense started strong in the first quarter, but couldn't keep pace with the Rattlers offense, led by senior wide receiver Solomon Enis.

Enis scored four touchdowns and pulled off a successful 2-point conversion for North Canyon (2-2), scoring 26 of its 28 points. He credited the offensive line and persistent defense for their victory.

“The offensive line showed up, and the defense pushed a shutout (in the second half),” said Enis, who is ranked as the state’s college prospect in the 2018 class by azcentral sports.

Agua Fria coach Ross Crow said he expects his Owls (1-3), losers to two straight, to get better.

“We left some things out on the field that we can clean up in practice next week,” he said. “They got a really bad taste in their mouths from these losses, so they’re going to be ready to bounce back even harder.”

After coming off a loss last week to Shadow Mountain, North Canyon coach Airabin Justin said he didn’t make any adjustments in practice or for the game.

“Last week we had a lot of penalties and things that didn’t go our way,” he said.

Justin added the key to victory for Rattlers was to limit their penalties and overall mistakes.

North Canyon will take on the Maricopa Rams next week in its second straight game on the road.