The Rocklin Thunder will take on the Oak Ridge Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Oak Ridge is hoping to do what Del Oro couldn't on Friday: put an end to Rocklin's winning streak, which now stands at five games. Rocklin put the hurt on Del Oro with a sharp 35-14 win. 35 seems to be a good number for the Thunder as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Rocklin's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rafi Merino, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards. Reeve Slone was another key signal caller, throwing for 199 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Rocklin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Josiah Andrews and Derek Keeley. Rocklin got some further help from Alex Durham: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles.
Rocklin was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 230 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Del Oro only rushed for 29.
Meanwhile, Oak Ridge never let their opponents score on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Whitney 63-0. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Wildcats are ranked 283rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Phoenix Hester was a one-man wrecking crew for Oak Ridge as he threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 7-for-7 passing, and also rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Edwards, who picked up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Rocklin's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-1. As for Oak Ridge, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 5-4 record this season.
Rocklin didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Oak Ridge when the teams last played back in October of 2023, but they still walked away with a 21-17 win. Will Rocklin repeat their success, or does Oak Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
