The McFarland Cougars will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Mendota Aztecs at 7:30 p.m.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 46-19, which was the final score in McFarland's tilt against Golden Valley on Thursday.
Despite their defeat, McFarland saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Sebastian San Juan Concha, who picked up 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 40 yards, was perhaps the best of all. Jorge Hernandez-Galvan was another key signal caller, throwing for 94 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mendota). They put the hurt on Orange Cove with a sharp 42-21 win last Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Mendota's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ryan Preciado, who threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes. A healthy portion of that aerial production (104 yards to be exact) went to Erlin Gomez, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mendota was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 234 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Mendota's defense and their three sacks. In that department, Bryan Ruiz was the leader with two.
McFarland dropped their record down to 2-3 with the loss, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Mendota, their record is now 3-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. McFarland has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 188 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mendota struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
