Football Preview: Bishop Diego Cardinals vs. Simi Valley Pioneers
Bishop Diego is 3-0 against Simi Valley since April of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Bishop Diego Cardinals will venture away from home to take on the Simi Valley Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Oscar Anoai Mauia and Brice Hawkins.
Bishop Diego's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Oaks Christian on Friday. They took a 13-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Lions. That makes it the first time this season the Cardinals have let down their home crowd.
Meanwhile, Simi Valley put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed by Camarillo on the road to the tune of 56-7. The Pioneers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 20 points or more this season.
Tagg Harrison was his usual excellent self, throwing for 313 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes, and also rushing for 34 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Hawkins, who gained 158 total yards and three touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Simi Valley's defense and their three sacks. Izak Simpson was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Jayden Graham was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble and making 13 total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Simi Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 243 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Bishop Diego's loss dropped their record down to 4-2-1. As for Simi Valley, their win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-0.
Bishop Diego beat Simi Valley 27-20 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hawkins, who rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, and also picked up 35 receiving yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Bishop Diego still be able to contain Hawkins? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
