Football Preview: Exeter Monarchs vs. Strathmore Spartans
Exeter has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will hit the road for the first time this season to challenge the Strathmore Spartans at 7:15 p.m. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Exeter's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed by Lindsay at home to the tune of 28-0. Given the Monarchs' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 282nd, while the Cardinals are ranked 685th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Strathmore came tearing into last Friday's game with eight straight wins dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Buccaneers as they made off with a 41-20 victory.
Isaiah Colunga went supernova for Strathmore, rushing for 120 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries, while also throwing for 101 yards and a touchdown on only seven passes. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. Gerardo Ruiz was another major influence, as he rushed for 81 yards and ran in a TD.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Strathmore's defense and their five sacks. Avenal's QB won't forget Charlie Gates anytime soon given he sacked him three times. Gates is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made seven or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Exeter now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Strathmore, their win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0.
Exeter skirted past Strathmore 24-21 when the teams last played back in August of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Strathmore's Jacob Poole, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 42 receiving yards and a touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Exeter to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
