Preview: De La Salle Spartans vs. Mission Viejo Diablos
The De La Salle Spartans will take on the Mission Viejo Diablos at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
With a playoff game on the line, De La Salle rose to the challenge on Friday. They breezed by the Broncos at home to the tune of 41-0. The win was nothing new for De La Salle as they're now sitting on 11 straight.
De La Salle can attribute much of their success to Derrick Blanche, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Jaden Jefferson, who rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Mission Viejo and Granite Hills (ranked 66 and 86 in the MaxPreps national rankings respectively) squared off in a high-profile matchup. Mission Viejo took their contest at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-21 victory over Granite Hills. The victory was nothing new for Mission Viejo as they're now sitting on seven straight.
Mission Viejo found their leader in underclassman Luke Fahey, who threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Hinesward. Lilomaiava. was another key contributor, rushing for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
De La Salle's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 35.4 points per game. As for Mission Viejo, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-3 record this season.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: De La Salle has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 240.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mission Viejo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 182.6 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
