The Elk Grove Thundering Herd will face off against the Franklin Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Neither Elk Grove nor Franklin posted many points in their last games, so it might be the defenses that decide this one.
Elk Grove is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Monterey Trail just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Mustangs by a score of 14-12.
Even if they lost, Elk Grove's defense still kept up the pressure with six sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Kyleann Baird.
Meanwhile, while Franklin put up some points on Thursday, the same can't be said for Laguna Creek. The Wildcats came out on top against the Cardinals by a score of 13-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
Franklin found their leader in freshman Natalie Tucker, who rushed for 25 yards and one TD, and also threw for 90 yards and one touchdown while completing 81.2% of her passes. Makenzie Jones made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Franklin didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Laguna Creek to a completion percentage of just 44.4%. Given Tucker's standout performance, it's clear the Cardinals' secondary just wasn't on the same level.
Franklin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of LJ Roger and Jones. Jones got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Elk Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 13-5. As for Franklin, their win bumped their record up to 6-13.
Elk Grove was able to grind out a solid victory over Franklin when the teams last played back in September, winning 18-8. Do the Thundering Herd have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
