Preview: Birmingham Patriots vs. Garfield Bulldogs
The Birmingham Patriots will square off against the Garfield Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
With a playoff game on the line, Birmingham rose to the challenge on Friday. They breezed by Carson on the road to the tune of 35-6. The win was nothing new for Birmingham as they're now sitting on seven straight.
The match pitted two key players against one another: Ronnell Hewitt and Jerry Misaalefua. Hewitt had a solid game and rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Misaalefua did his best for the losing side, rushing for 123 yards.
Meanwhile, Garfield came tearing into Friday's contest with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 43.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 42-6 win over Gardena. Garfield pushed the score to 36-6 by the end of the third, a deficit Gardena had little chance of recovering from.
Damian Cornejo continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 150 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Dominic Vasquez got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Birmingham's victory bumped their record up to 10-2. As for Garfield, they have yet to lose a match at home this season, leaving them with a 11-1 record.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's game: Birmingham has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 158.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Garfield struggles in that department as they've been even better at 234.2 per game. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
Everything came up roses for Birmingham against Garfield when the teams last played back in November of 2022 as the team secured a 49-13 victory. Does Birmingham have another victory up their sleeve, or will Garfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
