Preview: Windward Wildcats vs. Santa Clara Saints
The Windward Wildcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Santa Clara Saints at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Windward had no problem doing just that on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 55-12 win over Cuyama Valley. The victory was a breath of fresh air for Windward as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara can now show off six landslide victories after their most recent contest on Friday. They claimed a resounding 50-20 win over Hillcrest Christian at home. The score was close at the half, but Santa Clara pulled away in the second half with 28 points.
Jason Valenzuela was his usual excellent self, rushing for 124 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 7.3 yards per carry, and also throwing for 167 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes. Valenzuela hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games. Lucas Mendez was another key contributor, picking up 69 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Their wins bumped Windward to 2-7 and Santa Clara to 6-4.
