Football Preview: Yreka Miners vs. West Valley Eagles
Yreka hasn't had much luck against West Valley recently, but that could start to change on Friday. After each having a week off, both will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:30 p.m. Yreka is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34 points per game this season.
Yreka is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Mazama: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Yreka blew Mazama out of the water with a 36-6 final score. The result was nothing new for the Miners, who have now won three games by 20 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Trevan Crane, who rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.5 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Gabe Gregg, who rushed for 44 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Yreka was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 330 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in five consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Yreka didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Cain Navarro, Eugene Super, and Gregg picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, West Valley fell victim to All S and their airtight defense last Friday. They took a blow against the Saints, falling 50-0. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 513th in California, while the Saints are ranked 73rd in Texas).
Yreka pushed their record up to 3-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. As for West Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Yreka has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 284.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for West Valley, though, as they've been averaging only 72.8. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Yreka and West Valley were almost perfectly matched up in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, but Yreka suffered an agonizing 8-7 loss. Can Yreka avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
