Football Preview: El Monte Lions vs. Baldwin Park Braves
El Monte has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game this season. they challenge the Baldwin Park Braves at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, El Monte humbled Whittier with a 42-6 victory. Fans of the Lions have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
El Monte's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Brandon Do, who rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and Felipe Taboada, who rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. Taboada's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 110 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, El Monte was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 242 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
El Monte's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. Brandon Torres led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. El Monte got some further help from Nathan Jimenez: he forced a fumble, made 12 total tackles (1.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, Baldwin Park can finally bid farewell to their four-game losing streak dating back to last season thanks to their game on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Sierra Vista 40-8 at home. The Braves' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Jake Garcia continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 285 yards and five touchdowns while completing 84.6% of his passes, and also rushing for 41 yards. Randle Tebo was in the mix too, providing Baldwin Park with two touchdowns.
El Monte pushed their record up to 3-0 with that win, which was their third straight at home. As for Baldwin Park, their victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 1-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. El Monte has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 257.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Baldwin Park struggles in that department as they've been averaging 175.2. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
El Monte ended up a good deal behind Baldwin Park in their previous matchup back in August of 2023, losing 52-33. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Garcia, who threw for 316 yards and five touchdowns, and also rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Now that El Monte knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
