Football Preview: Doherty Spartans vs. Mesa Ridge Grizzlies
Two dominant signal callers in Leland Frescaz and Bryce Riehl are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Doherty Spartans are taking a road trip to face off against the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Doherty will be strutting in after a win while Mesa Ridge will be coming in after a defeat.
Doherty took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They never let Falcon onto the board and left with a 52-0 victory. The matchup marked the Spartans' most dominant win of the season.
Frescaz was his usual excellent self, rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, while also throwing for 80 yards and three touchdowns. Those 59 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Brody Noll was in the mix too, providing Doherty with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Doherty was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 275 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Doherty didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Jalen Hale.
Meanwhile, Mesa Ridge faced Montrose in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Mesa Ridge fell to Montrose 32-28. That makes it the first time this season the Grizzlies 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 Trevon Salas, who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Riehl was another key player, rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown.
The victory got Doherty back to even at 4-4. As for Mesa Ridge, their loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-3.
Doherty was dealt a bruising 28-0 defeat at the hands of Mesa Ridge when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can Doherty avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
