Football Preview: Cupertino Pioneers vs. Monta Vista Matadors
Cupertino has been on the road for two straight, but on Thursday they'll finally head home. They will host the Monta Vista Matadors at 7:00 p.m. Both are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Having struggled with eight defeats in a row, Cupertino finally turned things around against Lynbrook on Friday. They blew past the Vikings 48-0. The Pioneers' 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 Herman Viray, who rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. He showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 54 yards.
Cupertino was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 328 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 89.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last five matchups they've averaged 0.
Meanwhile, while Monta Vista put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Mills. Monta Vista simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Mills 35-0. The Matadors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by 29 points or more this season.
Finnegan Hassy went supernova for Monta Vista, rushing for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Monta Vista is 3-0-1 when Hassy posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 2-3 otherwise. Graham Ischo was in the mix too, providing Monta Vista with two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Monta Vista's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. John Jensen was especially locked on to Mills' QB and sacked him twice. Jensen also set a new season high mark in total tackles with seven.
Cupertino's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-8. As for Monta Vista, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-3-1.
Everything came up roses for Cupertino against Monta Vista in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 41-14 win. Will Cupertino repeat their success, or does Monta Vista have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
