The Concord Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Vallejo Redhawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
On Friday, Concord was just a hair shy of victory and fell 21-20 to Northgate. The Bears gained 61 more yards on the day, but it was the Broncos that made the best use of them.
Concord's loss came about despite a quality game from Juan Gonzalez, who threw for 116 yards and a pair of TDs, and also rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown.
Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 3.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Aiden Cunningham for the heroic effort on defense: he. Concord didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.6.
Meanwhile, Vallejo didn't have too much trouble with Saint Mary's on Friday as they won 37-20. The Redhawks haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Vallejo's win came from a few key players Concord will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Marquise Collier, who picked up 102 receiving yards and a pair of scores. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in receiving touchdowns (two). Carlisto Valetino handled things on the ground, rushing for 83 yards and a rushing touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Vallejo's defense and their six sacks. Vernus Ragsdale was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up four himself. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.2 total tackles per game.
Concord's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 6-4. As for Vallejo, their record now sits at 7-3.
Concord ended up a good deal behind Vallejo in their previous meeting back in September of 2021, losing 25-7. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
