The Banning Pilots will face off against the Western Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both might be coming in a bit winded given how much these teams ran up and down the field in their prior games.
Western is hoping to do what Capistrano Valley Christian couldn't on Friday: put an end to Banning's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Banning claimed a resounding 40-10 win over Capistrano Valley Christian on the road. Given the Pilots' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Eagles are ranked 356th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jordan Villanueva had a dynamite game for Banning, rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. Banning also got a significant boost from Henry Silva, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 93 yards.
Silva wasn't the only one working in the rushing yards department: Banning was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 419 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 350 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Western lost 70-47 to El Toro on Friday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (42), the Pioneers still had to take the loss.
Despite the loss, Western got top-tier performance from Jj Amezcua, who picked up 280 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Amezcua was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 57 yards. Christian Rojas also helped out as he racked up 138 receiving yards.
Banning's victory ended a three-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-0. As for Western, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Banning has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 375 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Western has preferred to attack from the air: they average 280 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Banning was taken down by Western 54-7 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Banning, Anthony Luna (who threw for 301 yards and six touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
