Arcadia faces its toughest challenge of the season Friday when the Titans head to Scottsdale to take on the Notre Dame Saints.

Arcadia will be forced to prove itself against a strong opponent on the road after struggling against two mediocre teams at home the past two weeks. The Titans lost to Higley two weeks ago and escaped with a close win over the Maricopa Rams in last week’s home contest.

One positive that can be taken out of the Maricopa game is the continual progression of Sosaia Maafu as a complimentary back to speedsters Bradley Tefft, Ryan Fochtman and Marty Chavez. While his three counterparts use speed and agility to gain yards, Maafu pounds the ball through defenders before breaking up field.

In the first couple games of the season, Maafu struggled to gain extra yards after breaking through the line of scrimmage. After averaging just over 3 yards a carry in his first three games, Maafu has run for 7.6 yards a carry in the last three. The emergence of Maafu up the middle should open up running room around the outside for Tefft and the other speed backs.

Notre Dame has shut down the run the run this season, so the Titans will need their running backs at the top of their game if they are going to break through on the ground. The Saints defense returns seven starters from last year, including big defensive lineman Peter Ingras.

The Arcadia passing offense will also need to improve its accuracy and ball protection in order to stay competitive. The Saints have picked off 13 passes this year, including five interceptions against Paradise Valley early in the season. Defensive back Brian Poupore leads the group with four interceptions. He intercepted three passes against Seton Catholic.

Defensively, the Titans front line will have to continue its dominance up the middle and improve its coverage on runs to the outside. The team cannot afford to give Saints running back Korey Jones second-chance opportunities around the end. Jones is averaging 115 rushing yards a game and has scored six touchdowns on the ground.

The Titans defensive line has done a great job stuffing the run up the middle, but they need support around the ends. This falls to the talented Arcadia linebackers, as the secondary will have its hands full with Notre Dame quarterback Jordan Gehrke.

Gehrke has a strong arm and excels at finding the open receiver. He will look for big play opportunities to Poupore but is equally apt at dumping the ball off to an open third or fourth option. Gehrke is averaging 195 passing yards a game and has thrown 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

The Arcadia defensive backs, led by cornerback Kyle York and safety Brendan Satran, are an athletic group but have been caught out of position on a few occasions this year. They need to stick tight to their receivers and give the pass rush a chance to pressure Gehrke and limit his effectiveness.