Football Preview: Orland Trojans vs. Red Bluff Spartans
The Orland Trojans are taking a road trip to square off against the Red Bluff Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Orland is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Orland is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Shasta just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They fell 22-15 to the Wolves. That makes it the first time this season the Trojans have let down their home crowd.
Despite the defeat, Orland got top-tier performance from Luke Schager, who rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave Schager a new career-high in rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Orland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 283 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Red Bluff). They blew past Corning, posting a 49-14 win at home. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 217th, while the Cardinals are ranked 643rd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Kayden Leaf continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 258 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.3 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown. Zach Shaver was another key player, rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries.
Having lost for the first time this season, Orland fell to 3-1. As for Red Bluff, the victory for them keeps them at an undefeated 4-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Orland has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 340.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Red Bluff struggles in that department as they've been averaging 299.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Orland lost to Red Bluff on the road by a decisive 18-0 margin when the teams last played back in March of 2021. Thankfully for Orland, Clyde Shaver (who rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also threw for 98 yards and a touchdown on only seven passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
