Preview: Le Grand Bulldogs vs. Waterford Wildcats
After two games on the road, Le Grand is heading back home. They will take on The Waterford Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Le Grand really took it to Mariposa County for the full four quarters, racking up a 49-20 win on the road. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-14.
It was another big night for Alexis Granados, who rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.1 yards per carry. Nathan Garcia was another key contributor, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Waterford fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back wins it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They blew past Denair, posting a 41-14 victory on the road.
Waterford's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Christian Gayle, who picked up 51 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and Bryan Martinez, who threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.2% of his passes.
Le Grand's victory was their fifth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which bumped their overall record up to 8-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-10 Mariposa County and 2-8 Esparto (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 23.7% over those games). As for Waterford, their victory bumped their record up to 4-6.
Le Grand was able to grind out a solid win over Waterford when the teams last played back in September, winning 41-28. Will Le Grand repeat their success, or does Waterford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
