Football Preview: Tonopah Muckers vs. Trona Tornadoes
The Tonopah Muckers will challenge the Trona Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Tonopah sitting on three straight wins and Trona on six (dating back to last season).
Last Friday, Tonopah strolled past Virginia City with points to spare, taking the game 26-8.
Tonopah found their leader in underclassman Dustin Otteson, who rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 63 receiving yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. Mitchell Miller was another key player, rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Tonopah's defense and their three sacks. Miller was especially locked on to Virginia City's QB and sacked him twice. Miller also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up two sacks and making 12 total tackles.
Tonopah was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 431 total yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Virginia City only gained 151.
Meanwhile, while Trona put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Immanuel Christian. Trona blew past Immanuel Christian, posting a 58-0 victory at home.
Gabe Horta had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, and also threw for 20 yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 100.3 rushing yards per game. Caid Mccullar was in the mix as well, providing Trona with a touchdowns.
Trona wouldn't let Immanuel Christian keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Trona can thank AJ Celaya and Rudy Horta for forcing both of them. Celaya also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making seven total tackles.
Tonopah's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Trona, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the trenches. Tonopah has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 300.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Trona struggles in that department as they've been averaging 242.3. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Tonopah against Trona in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 as the team secured a 60-18 win. Does Tonopah have another victory up their sleeve, or will Trona turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
