Football Preview: Shafter Generals vs. Taft Wildcats
The Shafter Generals will face off against the Taft Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Shafter is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering St. Joseph just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Knights by a score of 30-28. The loss was the Generals' first of the season.
Shafter might have lost, but man, Mariyon Sloan was a machine: he rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 155 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave Sloan a new career-high in rushing yards. Tremelle Spain was Sloan's top target, picking up 123 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Even though they lost, Shafter was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 212 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 212 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Taft fell victim to Cabrillo and their airtight defense last Friday. They were outmatched by the Conquistadores at home and fell 28-0. The Wildcats' loss continues a trend for the squad, making it three in a row.
Having lost for the first time this season, Shafter fell to 4-1. As for Taft, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
Everything went Shafter's way against Taft when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as Shafter made off with a 41-16 victory. Does Shafter have another victory up their sleeve, or will Taft turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
