Football Preview: Denver West Cowboys vs. Jefferson Saints
Denver West has gone 3-0 against Jefferson recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Denver West Cowboys will square off against the Jefferson Saints at 4:00 p.m. Denver West is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games dating back to last season.
Denver West will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up 12 points last Friday, then bounced right back against Manual on Saturday. Denver West blew past Manual 36-8 at home.
Denver West relied on the efforts of Marcelo Ortiz, who threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes, and Jose Valencia, who rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Denver West was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 245 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in four consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Denver West's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as King Stancil, Ernest Fields, and Zion Snoody picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Jefferson didn't have quite enough to beat Prospect Ridge Academy on Thursday and fell 24-22. The Saints gained 184 more yards on the day, but it was the Miners that made the best use of them.
Jefferson's defeat came about despite a quality game from Demitrias Martinez, who rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, and also threw for 133 yards on 14 of 20 attempts. Martinez's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 114 rushing yards dating back to last season. 87 of those passing yards were hauled in by Jacob Ballejos.
Denver West's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Jefferson, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Denver West has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 219 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Jefferson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 222. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Denver West against Jefferson when the teams last played back in September of 2021 as the team secured a 48-2 victory. Will Denver West repeat their success, or does Jefferson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
