Football Preview: Murrieta Valley Nighthawks vs. Centennial Huskies
Murrieta Valley hasn't had much luck against Centennial recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks will venture away from home to take on the Centennial Huskies at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a five-game winning streak alive.
Murrieta Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Chaparral, who was ranked 20th in their home state at the time (Murrieta Valley was ranked 11th). Murrieta Valley claimed a resounding 56-22 victory over Chaparral on the road. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 28-3.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Jeremiah Watson and he. Watson rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries while he rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Dorian Hoze's longest rush was for an impressive 65 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Ty Isaia was in the mix as well, providing Murrieta Valley with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Murrieta Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 427 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, while Centennial put up plenty of points on Thursday, the same can't be said for Vista Murrieta. Centennial took their contest on the road with ease, bagging a 63-0 win over Vista Murrieta. The game marked the Huskies' most dominant victory of the season.
Husan Longstreet continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also rushing for 32 yards and a touchdown. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Braylin Drake, who gained 68 total yards and two touchdowns.
Murrieta Valley pushed their record up to 6-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Centennial, their record is now 5-2.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Hoze and Drake. Hoze has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 147.9 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Drake has averaged 144.4 rushing yards per game this season.
Murrieta Valley took a serious blow against Centennial when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 62-27. Thankfully for Murrieta Valley, Cornell Hatcher, Jr. (who rushed for 245 yards and six touchdowns on only 14 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
