Two dominant backs in Leo Mendoza and Samuel Gonzales are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Hilltop Lancers and the Southwest SD Raiders will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Hilltop will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each game than the last.
Hilltop is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Castle Park, posting a 57-6 victory. The Lancers have beaten the Trojans the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Trojans has come to flipping the script.
Alejandro Carranza
| 09/26/25 vs Castle Park | 2 |
| 09/05/25 vs Santana | 1 |
| 10/25/24 @ Bonita Vista | 1 |
| 10/04/24 vs Victory Christian Academy | 1 |
| 09/27/24 vs Castle Park | 1 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hilltop to victory, but perhaps none more so than Alejandro Carranza, who threw for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns on perfect 5-for-5 passing. The dominant performance also gave Carranza a new career-high in passing touchdowns (two). Julian Moran made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Hilltop was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 282 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive matchups.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Moran, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Southwest SD fell victim to Kearny and their airtight defense last Friday. They received a blow as they fell 14-0 to the Komets. The Raiders gained 83 more yards on the day, but it was the Komets that made the best use of them.
The win got Hilltop back to even at 3-3. As for Southwest SD, this is the second loss in a row for them and also nudges their season record down to 3-3.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Hilltop has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Southwest SD struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 150 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Hilltop against Southwest SD when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 32-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lancers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
