Football Preview: Rio Rancho Rams vs. Cibola Cougars
Rio Rancho is 10-0 against Cibola since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. After each having a week off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Rio Rancho took a loss when they played away from home back in September, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed last Friday. They secured a 26-21 W over Eastlake. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked ninth in New Mexico, while the Falcons are ranked 490th in Texas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
A big part of Rio Rancho's win came down to the chemistry between Micah Takahashi and his top target Jace Pitt. Takahashi rushed for 186 yards while picking up 8.1 yards per carry while Pitt picked up 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, Takahashi is now averaging an impressive 111.6 rushing yards per game.
Rio Rancho was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 227 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cibola). Everything went their way against Clovis two weeks ago as Cibola made off with a 36-12 victory. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their six-point performance the matchup before.
Rio Rancho now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Cibola, their win ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-3.
Everything came up roses for Rio Rancho against Cibola when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 48-17 victory. In that game, Rio Rancho amassed a halftime lead of 35-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
