Preview: Foothill Cougars vs. Pleasant Valley Vikings
Foothill is 2-8 against Pleasant Valley since October of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Foothill Cougars will head out on the road to face off against the Pleasant Valley Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Foothill strolled past Enterprise with points to spare, taking the game 35-18.
Hunter Marchione was the offensive standout of the contest as he rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 165 yards and a touchdown. Marchione was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 53 yards. Dawson Mortimer was in the mix as well, providing Foothill with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, after only ten points in their last matchup, Pleasant Valley made sure to put some points up on the board against Red Bluff on Friday. Pleasant Valley blew past Red Bluff 42-7 on the road. Given Pleasant Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 173rd, while Red Bluff is ranked 431st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pleasant Valley relied on the efforts of Quinntyn Thomas-Brass, who rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and Joseph Garcia, who threw for 111 yards and three touchdowns.
Foothill's win was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 5-4. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 36.3 points per game. As for Pleasant Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Foothill has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 151 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pleasant Valley struggles in that department as they've been even better at 189.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Foothill couldn't quite finish off Pleasant Valley in their previous meeting back in November of 2022 and fell 10-7. Can Foothill avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
