Football Preview: Hanford Bullpups vs. Mission Oak Hawks
Hanford has gone 3-0 against Mission Oak recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Hanford Bullpups will be playing at home against the Mission Oak Hawks at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Hanford has eight straight wins, Mission Oak has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Thursday, Hanford was fully in charge, breezing past Tulare Western 42-7 on the road. The Bullpups might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 25 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Daniel Gomez, who threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown. Albert Richardson was another key player, gaining 195 total yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Hanford was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Mission Oak's offense. They were outmatched by Tulare Union on the road and fell 42-0. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 407th, while the The Tribe are ranked 80th).
Hanford pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Mission Oak, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
Thursday's match might be decided in the trenches. Hanford has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175.9 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Mission Oak, though, as they've been averaging only 96.9. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Hanford won a matchup that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, slipping by Mission Oak 35-34. Will Hanford repeat their success, or does Mission Oak have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
