Football Preview: Menaul Panthers vs. Escalante Lobos
The Menaul Panthers will take on the Escalante Lobos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Menaul has three straight victories, Escalante has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Menaul is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Cloudcroft, who was ranked 21st in their home state at the time (Menaul was ranked 15th). Menaul simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Cloudcroft 52-12. The Panthers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Menaul's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Diego Carrillo, who threw for 459 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes, and also rushed for 35 yards. Carlos Cummins was another key player, gaining 270 total yards and two touchdowns.
Menaul was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 69.2 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three contests they've averaged 195.7.
Meanwhile, a victory for Escalante just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were dealt a 60-8 defeat at the hands of Fort Sumner/House.
Menaul's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Escalante, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.
Menaul skirted past Escalante 37-34 in their previous matchup on October 11th. Does Menaul have another victory up their sleeve, or will Escalante turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
