Football Game Preview: Bakersfield Drillers vs. Bakersfield Christian Eagles

Bakersfield hasn't had much luck against Bakersfield Christian recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Drillers will head out to take on the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated after seven games, but that won't be the case come Friday.

Bakersfield barely beat Centennial the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Drillers blew past the Golden Hawks, posting a 50-7 win. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Drillers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Golden Hawks are ranked 333rd).

Damir Lomax continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 145 yards and one TD on only 15 carries. Bj Veasey made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Bakersfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 259 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 165 rushing yards in four consecutive games.

Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 14 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Eric Benn, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, while Bakersfield Christian put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Highland. The Eagles claimed a resounding 34-0 victory over the Scots. The Eagles pushed the score to 27-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Scots had little chance of recovering from.

Bakersfield Christian's win bumped their record up to 7-0. As for Bakersfield, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 7-0.

Bakersfield and Bakersfield Christian were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but Bakersfield came up empty-handed after a 24-23 loss. Can the Drillers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.