The St. Joseph Academy Crusaders are taking a road trip to take on the Borrego Springs Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with St. Joseph Academy sitting on three straight victories and Borrego Springs on five.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for St. Joseph Academy against California Lutheran as the team secured a 50-6 win. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 17th, while the C-Hawks are ranked 62nd) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Asher Larkin was his usual excellent self, rushing for 129 yards on only nine carries. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Borrego Springs and Horizon Prep, and Borrego Springs kept the tradition alive. The Rams were the clear victors by a 40-16 margin over the Lions on Friday. Those 40 points were actually the fewest the Rams have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
A big part of Borrego Springs' victory came down to the chemistry between Christopher Alcaraz and his top target Josef Rocha. Alcaraz threw for 370 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 17.6 yards per attempt while Rocha picked up 297 receiving yards and four scores. With that strong performance, Rocha is now averaging an impressive 116 receiving yards per game.
Borrego Springs' defense made their presence known, laying out the QB three times. Alcaraz was especially locked on to Horizon Prep's QB and sacked him twice.
St. Joseph Academy's record is now 5-1. As for Borrego Springs, their record now sits at 5-0.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. St. Joseph Academy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 325 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Borrego Springs struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 186.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for St. Joseph Academy against Borrego Springs in their previous meeting back in August of 2024, as the squad secured a 58-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
