Football Preview: Tulare Union The Tribe vs. Ridgeview Wolf Pack
The Tulare Union The Tribe will face off against the Ridgeview Wolf Pack at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Tulare Union has three straight victories, Ridgeview has nine straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Tulare Union made easy work of Redwood and carried off a 35-10 win. Given the The Tribe's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 141st, while the Rangers are ranked 376th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tulare Union's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Jordan Crisp, who threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.2% of his passes, and Rashawn Hayes, who rushed for 136 yards on only 13 carries. Crisp is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last 11 games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Tulare Union was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Ridgeview scored the most points they've had all season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They and Grace were almost perfectly matched up, but Ridgeview suffered a 22-21 defeat.
Despite the loss, Ridgeview got top-tier performance from Jon Gutierrez, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Gutierrez's longest rush was for an impressive 62 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Mason Mendoza, who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Ridgeview's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jacob Longoria and Maximus Mercado.
Tulare Union's victory bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Ridgeview, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
Tulare Union ended up a good deal behind Ridgeview in their previous meeting back in November of 2019, losing 40-21. Thankfully for Tulare Union, Jaron Amos (who rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
