Football Preview: Mesa Verde Mavericks vs. Rio Vista Rams
Two dominant backs in Fred Robinson and Ethan Friedel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Mesa Verde Mavericks will welcome the Rio Vista Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mesa Verde is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.8 points per game this season.
Mesa Verde's usually-dominant defense will be looking to make up for Friday's struggle, when Woodland Christian offense got past them. Mesa Verde was dealt a 39-6 loss at the hands of Woodland Christian on Friday. The contest marked the Mavericks' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Meanwhile, Rio Vista waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They blew past the Falcons 49-3 on the road. Considering the Rams have won three matchups by more than 39 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Rio Vista's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Emmett Medders, who rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries, and Friedel, who rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries. Another back making a difference was Garrett Rish, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Rio Vista's defense and their six sacks. Charlie Jeffers was especially locked on to Vacaville Christian's QB and sacked him five times. Jeffers also set a new season high mark in total tackles with nine.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Rio Vista was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 513 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 290 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Mesa Verde's defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Rio Vista, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Mesa Verde has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 248 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Rio Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 417.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
