The Irvine Vaqueros are on the road again on Thursday and play against the Beckman Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on October 19th. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Irvine beat Woodbridge 14-9. Given Irvine's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 237th, while Woodbridge is ranked 573rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The critical scores for Irvine came from Gavin Walker and Brandon Figueroa.
Meanwhile, Beckman had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They blew past University 31-7. The result was nothing new for Beckman, who have now won six matches by 21 points or more so far this season.
Austin Shepard was the offensive standout of the game as he rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also threw for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Irvine's win on Friday bumped their record up to 5-3. Beckman has been no stranger to the win column this season, as they've started out with wins in seven of their first eight matches, giving them a 7-1 record.
Thursday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Irvine has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Beckman struggles in that department as they've been even better at 165.9 per game. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Irvine was able to grind out a solid victory over Beckman when the teams last played back in September of 2022, winning 13-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Irvine since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
