Football Preview: Villa Park Spartans vs. Yorba Linda Mustangs
Villa Park has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Yorba Linda Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Villa Park's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They strolled past Mira Costa with points to spare, taking the game 18-0.
The critical scores for Villa Park came from Dominic Ancich and Luvie Clark.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Villa Park's defense and their three sacks. In that department, Owen Aguilar was the leader with two.
Meanwhile, Yorba Linda's offense rose to the challenge against a Tillers defense that boasted an average of only 15.8 points allowed last Saturday. Yorba Linda snuck past Tustin with a 35-31 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
Holden Nagin was the offensive standout of the game as he threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.5% of his passes, and also rushed for 42 yards.
Yorba Linda's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Owen Smith and Bryson French.
Villa Park pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Yorba Linda, their record is now 4-1.
Thursday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Villa Park has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 167.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Yorba Linda struggles in that department as they've been averaging 211.8. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Villa Park barely slipped by Yorba Linda in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, winning 34-33. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Yorba Linda's Chase Jones, who rushed for 306 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.9 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Villa Park to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
