Football Preview: Mesa Jackrabbits vs. Cesar Chavez Champions
Mesa has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will welcome the Cesar Chavez Champions at 7:00 p.m. Mesa is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.7 points per game this season.
Mesa is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Mountain View on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Mesa had to suffer through a 63-30 loss at the hands of Mountain View.
Mesa might have lost, but man, Griffen Yamamoto was a machine: he picked up 139 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Yamamoto's receiving production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 106 receiving yards. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Kelvin Holland, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Cesar Chavez got the win against Westwood on Thursday by a conclusive 28-8. The Champions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Cesar Chavez's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Pharis Jenkins led the charge by rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. Jenkins was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 54 yards. Nevin Reed was another key player, gaining 147 total yards and two touchdowns.
Cesar Chavez didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Mj Woodberry and Marcus Newman. Another thorn in Westwood's side was Tyes Graves, who forced a fumble and made ten total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Cesar Chavez was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 265 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Mesa now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Cesar Chavez, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-2.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant wideouts against one another: Yamamoto and Reed. Yamamoto has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 121.7 receiving yards per game this season. For his part, Reed has averaged 93.3 receiving yards per game this season.
Everything went Mesa's way against Cesar Chavez in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as Mesa made off with a 42-18 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Cesar Chavez's Deven Highsmith, who rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Mesa to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
