Santa Maria kicked off their season on the road on Friday and hit a couple of potholes. They fell 50-45 to the La Villa Cardinals. The Cougars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Cardinals apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in August of 2024.
Despite the loss, Santa Maria still got an impressive performance from Daniel Martinez, who rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 14.6 yards per carry. Martinez's longest rush was for an incredible 73 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Miguel Alaniz, who threw for 140 yards and a pair of TDs on only nine passes.
La Villa was led to victory by Isaiah Felix and Frankie-Raye Gonzales. Felix rushed for 144 yards and three scores while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, while Gonzales rushed for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only seven carries. The dominant performance also gave Gonzales a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two).
Santa Maria will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Monte Alto at 7:30 p.m. on the 12th. As for La Villa, they wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, a 44-13 defeat against Lyford on the 4th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
