Preview: Maple Mountain Golden Eagles vs. Box Elder Bees
Maple Mountain has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against The Box Elder Bees at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Utah (Maple Mountain is ranked 32nd, while Box Elder is ranked 20th).
Last Friday, everything went Maple Mountain's way against Viewmont as Maple Mountain made off with a 35-13 victory.
Banks Jackson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 136 yards on only seven carries, while also throwing for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 51 yards. Nic Hofheins was in the mix as well, providing Maple Mountain with two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Maple Mountain's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Kavika Bringhurst and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, after only 12 points in their last match, Box Elder made sure to put some points up on the board against Bonneville on October 11th. Box Elder simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bonneville 35-6 at home. The result was nothing new for Box Elder, who have now won five matches by 21 points or more so far this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Box Elder to victory, but perhaps none more so than Damon Rodriguez, who rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Daxton Sumko was another key contributor, rushing for 90 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Maple Mountain now has a winning record of 6-5. As for Box Elder, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as the pair have no problem gaining yardage. Maple Mountain has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 357 total yards per game. However, it's not like Box Elder struggles in that department as they've been even better at 413.4 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything went Maple Mountain's way against Box Elder in their previous meeting back in November of 2016 as Maple Mountain made off with a 32-8 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Maple Mountain since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
