Football Game Preview: Shadow Hills Knights vs. La Quinta Blackhawks + Official Tickets

The Shadow Hills Knights will venture away from home to take on the La Quinta Blackhawks at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Shadow Hills has given up an average of 26.5 points per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Shadow Hills is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Palm Desert on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Knights lost 38-14 to the Aztecs. The Knights were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 31-7.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask La Quinta). They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 40-13 win over Rancho Mirage. With the Blackhawks ahead 27-7 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.

Shadow Hills better focus on containing Roman Ansley and Colton LaCrone as the pair were huge in La Quinta's win. Ansley rushed for 93 yards and one TD on only six carries, while LaCrone rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown while picking up 8.4 yards per carry.

La Quinta was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 267 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in five consecutive games.

La Quinta didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of LaCrone and Alfredo Castro.

This is the second loss in a row for Shadow Hills and nudges their season record down to 4-4. As for La Quinta, their record now sits at 6-2.

Shadow Hills won a contest that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in October of 2024, slipping by La Quinta 30-29. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Blackhawks' James Madden Ruberg, who rushed for 198 yards and a pair of scores. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Knights still be able to contain Ruberg? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.