Football Preview: Valencia Tigers vs. Esperanza Aztecs
The Valencia Tigers will hit the road for the first time this season to square off against the Esperanza Aztecs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Valencia's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 47-0 win over Magnolia. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tigers.
Valencia got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Adrian Hurtado out in front who threw for 87 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Meanwhile, Esperanza gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Thursday. They secured a 24-20 W over Fountain Valley.
Travis Frazier looked great while leading his team to the win, throwing for 315 yards and three touchdowns. 87 of those passing yards were hauled in by Edward Khutshivili.
Esperanza was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 448 total yards. That's the most total yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Esperanza wouldn't let Fountain Valley keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Esperanza can thank Tyson Longwith and Dylan Critchfield for forcing both of them. Critchfield also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a fumble and making six total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Valencia was able to grind out a solid win over Esperanza in their previous meeting back in August of 2023, winning 40-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Valencia since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
