Football Preview: Sierra Timberwolves vs. Central Catholic Raiders
Sierra hasn't had much luck against Central Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Sierra Timberwolves will venture away from home to take on the Central Catholic Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Sierra is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 33.7 points per game this season.
Sierra is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. They took a blow against Oakdale, falling 63-21. While losing is never fun, the Timberwolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 333rd, while the Mustangs are ranked 119th).
The losing side was boosted by Aj Chapman, who picked up 64 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They breezed by the Mustangs to the tune of 52-19. The Raiders' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
It was another big night for Joey Alcutt, who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. He is becoming a predictor of Central Catholic's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-3 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Kayden McHenry, who threw for 137 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes.
Central Catholic was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 317 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Sierra's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 5-4. As for Central Catholic, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Sierra has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 227. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Sierra was dealt a bruising 63-7 loss at the hands of Central Catholic in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. That match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Sierra was down 49-7.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
