Football Preview: Carlsbad Cavemen/Cavegirls vs. Centennial Hawks
Carlsbad is 0-7 against Centennial since September of 2016 but things could change on Thursday. The Carlsbad Cavemen/Cavegirls will square off against the Centennial Hawks at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Carlsbad's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games.
Carlsbad will head into Friday's contest on the come-up: they were handed a three-point defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Cibola on Friday. Carlsbad breezed by Cibola at home to the tune of 35-6. The Cavemen/Cavegirls pushed the score to 35-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cougars cut but never quite recovered from.
Carlsbad found their leader in underclassman Brock Wright, who rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and also picked up 44 receiving yards and a touchdown. Wright got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 74 yards. Blas Lopez got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Carlsbad's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Lopez and Colton Mckibben. Mckibben is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made seven or more in the last five games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Centennial put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They strolled past Rio Rancho with points to spare, taking the game 43-27.
Zaiden Davis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 190 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.0 yards per carry.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Centennial was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 424 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 202 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
The win got Carlsbad back to even at 2-2. As for Centennial, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Carlsbad has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 354.7 total yards per game. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 443.5. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Carlsbad was dealt a bruising 42-14 loss at the hands of Centennial in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Davis, who rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also threw for 145 yards and a touchdown. Now that Carlsbad knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
