Two dominant backs in Julian McMahan and Jhadis Luckey are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Monte Vista Mustangs will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the California Grizzlies at 7:15 p.m. Monte Vista knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully California likes a good challenge.
Monte Vista is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Dublin 42-6 on the road last Friday. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 177th, while the Gaels are ranked 514th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for McMahan, who rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 60 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. The team also got some help courtesy of Kellan Ford, who picked up 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Monte Vista's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. Dakota Dickson was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.3 total tackles per game.
Meanwhile, California's undefeated season came to an end after six games on Friday. They took a 38-26 hit to the loss column at the hands of San Ramon Valley. The match marked the Grizzlies' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
California's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Luckey, who rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and Nic Fox, who picked up 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Luckey has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last five times he's played.
Monte Vista's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-1. As for California, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 6-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Monte Vista has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 204.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like California struggles in that department as they've been averaging 282.7. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Monte Vista came up short against California when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 21-14. Can Monte Vista avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
