Two dominant backs in Braeden Ward and Baylor Kelley are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Twelve Bridges Raging Rhinos will challenge the Placer Hillmen at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Twelve Bridges is looking to tack on another W to their eight-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Last Friday, Twelve Bridges humbled Nevada Union with a 55-7 victory. Given the Raging Rhinos' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 76th, while the Miners are ranked 344th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Twelve Bridges' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ward, who rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Ward is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Backing up that air attack was Connor Flaherty, who rushed for 83 yards and a rushing touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Twelve Bridges was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 319 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 216 rushing yards in seven consecutive games.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Twelve Bridges' defense and their four sacks. Davin Markle was especially locked on to Nevada Union's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Placer really took it to Nevada Union for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-21 win on the road. The Hillmen pushed the score to 34-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Miners had little chance of recovering from.
Placer's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Rian Miller led the charge by throwing for 220 yards and three touchdowns while completing 90% of his passes. Shaun Jones helped Miller out on the ground, rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Twelve Bridges' record now sits at 7-0. As for Placer, their record now sits at 6-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Twelve Bridges has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 303.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Placer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 256.1. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
