The Grand Junction Tigers will take on the Cheyenne Mountain Red-Tailed Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Cheyenne Mountain will be up against a hot Grand Junction team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Tigers took down Centaurus 31-14 on Friday.
Matthais Martinez-Santana
| 10/17/25 @ Centaurus | 132 |
| 10/09/25 vs Thornton | 84 |
| 10/02/25 @ Gateway | 118 |
| 09/25/25 vs Durango | 55 |
| 09/19/25 vs Fruita Monument | 49 |
| + 7 more games |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Grand Junction to victory, but perhaps none more so than Matthais Martinez-Santana, who rushed for 132 yards and two TDs on only 15 carries. That's the most rushing yards Martinez-Santana has posted since back in October of 2024. Paxton Webber was another key receiver, picking up 94 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Grand Junction was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 248 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 151 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Another reason for the win was Grand Junction's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. Eduardo Reyes was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up three himself. Grand Junction got some further help from A.J. Schlachter: he made ten total tackles and defended three passes in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Cheyenne Mountain). They took their contest on Thursday with ease, bagging a 63-13 win over Thornton. With the Red-Tailed Hawks ahead 49-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Grand Junction better keep an eye on Sam Hawker. He was instrumental in Cheyenne Mountain's win, rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Cheyenne Mountain's victory bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Grand Junction, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Grand Junction has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 170.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cheyenne Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 322.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Grand Junction strolled past Cheyenne Mountain when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a score of 32-15. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Red-Tailed Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
