Football Preview: Highlands Ranch Falcons vs. Dakota Ridge Eagles
It'll be Battle of the Birds when Falcons takes on the Dakota Ridge Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Highlands Ranch is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 42.3 points per game this season.
Highlands Ranch is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Ponderosa just ended the team's five-game winning streak on Thursday. The matchup between them and the Mustangs wasn't particularly close, with Highlands Ranch falling 42-28. That makes it the first time this season the Falcons have let down their home crowd.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Crew Gerig, who threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. George West was Gerig's top target, picking up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Dakota Ridge waltzed into their contest on Thursday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They strolled past the Eagles with points to spare, taking the game 42-25. Dakota Ridge's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Sam Callas had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 95 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. Nathan Rodriguez was another key player, picking up 117 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Dakota Ridge wouldn't let Heritage keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Dakota Ridge can thank Dominick Webb and Landon Kalsbeck for forcing both of them. Another thorn in Heritage's side was Jack Offerdahl, who made 13 total tackles and defended two passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Dakota Ridge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 200 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Highlands Ranch's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-2. As for Dakota Ridge, their victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
