Football Preview: Ridgeview Wolf Pack vs. Bakersfield Drillers
Ridgeview hasn't had much luck against Bakersfield recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Ridgeview Wolf Pack are taking a road trip to face off against the Bakersfield Drillers at 7:30 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Ridgeview is headed into Friday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 13th straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They fell just short of Stockdale by a score of 21-19. The Wolf Pack gained 81 more yards on the day, but it was the Mustangs that made the best use of them.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Francisco Palma, who picked up 72 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Ridgeview also got a significant boost from Jon Gutierrez, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 83 yards.
Meanwhile, Bakersfield's undefeated season came to an end after seven games on Friday. They and Bakersfield Christian were almost perfectly matched up, but Bakersfield suffered a 24-23 loss. The Drillers have struggled against the Eagles recently, as their game on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Bakersfield might have lost, but man, Brison Abbott was a machine: he rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. Abbott's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Bakersfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 269 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 185 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Bakersfield didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Daniel Reyes and Harvey Rogers III.
Ridgeview's defeat dropped their record down to 0-8. As for Bakersfield, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 7-1.
Ridgeview took a serious blow against Bakersfield when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 58-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Abbott, who rushed for 267 yards and five touchdowns on only 13 carries. Now that Ridgeview 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
