Two dominant backs in D'marcis Gresham and Dylan Ball are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Roseville Tigers and the Escalon Cougars will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Roseville has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 119 points over their last three games.
Roseville gave up the first points two weeks ago, but they didn't let that get them down. They came out on top against Placer by a score of 35-23. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Hillmen recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Roseville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kenny McClure, who rushed for 154 yards and one TD on only eight carries. McClure's longest rush was for an impressive 69 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. (JJ) Oreste Yong was in the mix too, providing Roseville with two touchdowns.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Roseville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August.
Roseville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Justin Fischer and Duane 'Peanut' Hawkins.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Escalon). They strolled past Orestimba with points to spare last Friday, taking the game 42-28. The Cougars pushed the score to 42-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Warriors cut but never quite recovered from.
Roseville better keep an eye on Logan Huebner. He was instrumental in Escalon's win, throwing for 221 yards and four TDs on only 18 passes. Huebner's passing game has become a key predictor of the Cougars' success: the team is 3-1 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 2-4 otherwise.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Escalon's defense and their eight sacks. In that department, Kolton Kjellberg was the leader with two.
Roseville's record is now 8-2. As for Escalon, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
