Football Preview: Maranatha Christian Eagles vs. Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets
The Maranatha Christian Eagles will challenge the Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Maranatha Christian sitting on 11 straight victories and Palo Verde Valley on five.
Maranatha Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They claimed a resounding 49-6 win over Clairemont. Considering the Eagles have won nine matchups by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Maranatha Christian's victory came down to the chemistry between Shane Piester and his top target Dane Johnson. Piester threw for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 91.7% of his passes while Johnson gained 78 total yards and two touchdowns.incredibly, Johnson got all that yardage with just one huge grab
One reason for the win was Maranatha Christian's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Caleb Kennedy, Nathan Niguidula, and Aiden Sarazin, who each picked up one sack apiece. Maranatha Christian received some extra help from Harrison Boehning, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Palo Verde Valley against Mountain Empire on Friday as the team secured a 46-8 win. The Yellow Jackets pushed the score to 46-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Redhawks cut but never quite recovered from.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Ayden Walker and Christian Richards. Walker rushed for 105 yards and three scores on only ten carries while Richards rushed for 103 yards and a pair of TDs on only 11 carries. Walker's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 105 rushing yards.
Palo Verde Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 315 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 180 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.
Maranatha Christian's record is now 11-1. As for Palo Verde Valley, their record now sits at 8-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
