Football Preview: Novato Hornets vs. Sonoma Valley Dragons
Two dominant backs in John Demartini and Cayden Waldrop are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Novato Hornets will take on the Sonoma Valley Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Sonoma Valley is hoping to do what Terra Linda couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Novato's winning streak, which now stands at five games. Novato took their match at home with ease, bagging a 37-7 win over Terra Linda. With that victory, the Hornets brought their scoring average up to 26 points per game.
It was another big night for Demartini, who rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and also picked up 55 receiving yards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Sal Carrow got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Novato was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 294 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Novato didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Sheamus Cordrey and Carrow.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sonoma Valley). They claimed a resounding 42-7 win over San Rafael on the road. The Dragons' victory was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
A big part of Sonoma Valley's win came down to the chemistry between Dalan Lopata and his top target Hudson Giarritta. Lopata threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.9% of his passes while Giarritta picked up 176 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Giarritta showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 57 yards.
Sonoma Valley wouldn't let San Rafael keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Sonoma Valley can thank Daunte Gonzalez and Donovan Riebli for forcing both of them. Another thorn in San Rafael's side was Luis Botello, who picked up three sacks and made six total tackles.
Novato pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Sonoma Valley, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Novato has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 187.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sonoma Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 166.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
