Preview: Hillcrest Trojans vs. California Lutheran C-Hawks
The Hillcrest Trojans will be playing at home against the California Lutheran C-Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Hillcrest will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
Last Friday, Hillcrest humbled La Sierra with a 49-6 victory.
Hillcrest got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Alfredo Vences out in front who rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Shaw, who picked up 116 receiving yards and a touchdown.
California Lutheran fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back victories it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They really took it to Southlands Christian for the full four quarters, racking up a 60-22 victory at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 42-16.
California Lutheran relied on the efforts of Colton McGee, who rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and Ren Ukai, who rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Lukas Shobe also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Hillcrest's victory was their third straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 4-5. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.7 points per game. As for California Lutheran, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Hillcrest has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 155.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like California Lutheran struggles in that department as they've been even better at 233.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
