Football Preview: Temecula Prep Patriots vs. Costa Mesa Mustangs
Two dominant backs in Alexander Grasso-Martins and Gavin Garza are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Temecula Prep Patriots will head out on the road to challenge the Costa Mesa Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Temecula Prep is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 28.2 points per game this season.
Last Friday, Temecula Prep earned a 28-19 win over The Webb Schools.
It was another big night for Grasso-Martins, who rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 101.3 rushing yards per game.
Temecula Prep didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jeremy Montazeri and Azael Bello. Temecula Prep got some further help from Parker Johnson: he picked up three sacks and made six total tackles.
Meanwhile, Costa Mesa won against La Quinta two weeks ago with 48 points and they decided to stick to that point total again last Thursday. Costa Mesa breezed by Loara to the tune of 48-14. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 29 points or more this season.
Costa Mesa can attribute much of their success to Garza, who rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, and Andrew Waiss, who rushed for 40 yards and two touchdowns. Garza's longest rush was for an impressive 65 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Costa Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 212.2 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five contests they've averaged 223.2.
Costa Mesa wouldn't let Loara keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Costa Mesa can thank Israel Lopez and Xavier Bennett for forcing both of them.
The victory was the third in a row for Costa Mesa, bringing their record for this year to 7-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.7 points per game. As for Temecula Prep, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Temecula Prep has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 202.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Costa Mesa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 217.8. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
