Eastwood is 8-0 against Socorro since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Eastwood Troopers will host the Socorro Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Socorro is facing Eastwood at the wrong time: Eastwood suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 55-54 to the Aztecs. The Troopers gained 187 more yards on the day, but it was the Aztecs that made the best use of them.
Eastwood might have lost, but man, Ethan Camacho-Williams was a machine: he threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. Jude Walker was another key player, picking up 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Socorro). They strolled past Cathedral with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 37-19. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bulldogs.
It was another big night for Eder Hernandez, who rushed for 186 yards and four touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Socorro wouldn't let Cathedral keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Socorro can thank Prince Vital and Roman Alvarado for forcing both of them. Alvarado is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made seven or more in the last six games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Cathedral's side was Matthew Avila, who picked up 1.5 sacks and made 13 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Socorro was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 243 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 163 rushing yards in four consecutive matches.
Eastwood's defeat dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Socorro, their victory ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-2.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Eastwood has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 275.5 passing yards per game. Socorro, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 219.2 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Eastwood against Socorro in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 as the team secured a 63-7 win. Will Eastwood repeat their success, or does Socorro have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
