Football Preview: California Grizzlies vs. Monte Vista Mustangs
California has won five straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Monte Vista has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The California Grizzlies will square off against the Monte Vista Mustangs at 7:15 p.m. California is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 38.2 points per game this season.
California is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering San Ramon Valley just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 38-26 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wolves. The Grizzlies have struggled against the Wolves recently, as their game on Friday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
California's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Jhadis Luckey, who rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and Nic Fox, who picked up 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Fox was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 69 yards.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Monte Vista). They blew past Dublin, posting a 42-6 victory on the road. Considering the Mustangs have won three games by more than 26 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Julian McMahan, who rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. McMahan is crushing it when it comes to rushing touchdowns: he's punched in at least two every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Kellan Ford, who picked up 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Monte Vista's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. Dakota Dickson was especially locked on to Dublin's QB and sacked him twice. With that strong performance, Dickson is now averaging an impressive 5.3 total tackles per game.
Having lost for the first time this season, California fell to 6-1. As for Monte Vista, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. California has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 282.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Monte Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 204.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
California beat Monte Vista 21-14 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Will California repeat their success, or does Monte Vista have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
