It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Murrieta Valley had no problem doing just that on Friday. They came out on top against the Rancho Cucamonga Cougars by a score of 49-42. That's more bragging rights for the Nighthawks, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
It was another big night for Dorian Hoze, who rushed for 148 yards and five touchdowns. Julian Treadwell did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 115 receiving yards.
Murrieta Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 210 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 203 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Murrieta Valley wouldn't let Rancho Cucamonga keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Murrieta Valley can thank Brandon Ortega and Derrick Johnson Jr. for forcing both of them. Josiah Anyansi was another major factor on D, picking up 0.5 sacks and making eight total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Despite the loss, Rancho Cucamonga still got an impressive performance from Jacob Chambers, who threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns while completing 79.2% of his passes, and also rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. That's the most rushing yards Chambers has posted since back in September. Keyonn Chatman was another key player, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
Murrieta Valley pushed their record up to 9-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 45.0 points per game. As for Rancho Cucamonga, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-5.
Murrieta Valley will face off against Los Alamitos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Murrieta Valley's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games. Rancho Cucamonga does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
