Football Preview: Americas Trail Blazers vs. Parkland Matadors
Two dominant backs in Cam'Ron Johnson and Jayden Macias are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Americas Trail Blazers and the Parkland Matadors will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Americas took a loss when they played away from home on October 4th, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed two weeks ago. They blew past Bel Air 45-14 at home.
Johnson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 208 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 80 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Mendivil, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Americas was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 370 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August of 2023.
Americas 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 Isaiah Alfarez. He is also on a roll when it comes to interceptions, as he's now snagged at least one in the last three games he's played. Americas got some further help from Jordan Castaneda: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles.
Meanwhile, a victory for Parkland just wasn't in the cards last Friday as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were outmatched by El Dorado at home and fell 77-36. While losing is never fun, the Matadors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 871st, while the Aztecs are ranked 284th).
Despite the loss, Parkland got top-tier performance from Macias, who rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 84 receiving yards.
Americas' win bumped their record up to 2-4. As for Parkland, they dropped their record down to 1-6 with the defeat, which was their fourth straight at home.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Americas has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 232.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Parkland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 288.3. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Americas beat Parkland 56-44 when the teams last played back in September. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Parkland's Jesse Molina, who threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Americas still be able to contain Molina? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
