Preview: Lemoore Tigers vs. Dinuba Emperors
The Lemoore Tigers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Dinuba Emperors at 7:30 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.
Lemoore had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 42-17 margin over Mission Oak. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-10.
Among those leading the charge was Johnny Cunha, who threw for 148 yards and a touchdown on only 12 passes, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. Dameion Hernandez was another key contributor, rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Mission Oak to a paltry 169 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Lemoore's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out four times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Daniel Rodrigues and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, Dinuba beat Tulare Western 32-20 two Thursdays ago.
Diego Tuttle was the offensive standout of the contest as he rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.2 yards per carry.
Their wins bumped Lemoore to 5-2 and Dinuba to 4-3.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Lemoore has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 204.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Dinuba struggles in that department as they've been even better at 209.6 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Lemoore strolled past Dinuba in their previous matchup back in October of 2022 by a score of 28-14. Will Lemoore repeat their success, or does Dinuba have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
