Winters has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will square off against the Pierce Bears at 7:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Winters: 4.8, Pierce: 11.4) so any points scored will be well earned.
Pierce's offense is going to have their work cut out for them on Friday: Winters hadn't allowed a single point the last four times they've hit the field. Winters' defense stepped up to hand Paradise a 48-0 shutout on Friday. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 299th, while the Bobcats are ranked 773rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Winters can attribute much of their success to Lane Brown, who rushed for 128 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 carries, and Gio Jimenez, who rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. That's the most rushing yards Jimenez has posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Pierce fell victim to Durham and their airtight defense on Friday. They lost to the Trojans on the road by a 14-0 margin. The Bears' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Winters' win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-0. As for Pierce, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Winters has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 302.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pierce struggles in that department as they've been averaging 186.6. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Winters suffered a grim 32-7 defeat to Pierce in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Can Winters avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
