The Branham Bruins will take on the Christopher Cougars at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Both are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Christopher is hoping to do what Aragon couldn't on Friday: put an end to Branham's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Branham blew past Aragon, posting a 48-13 victory at home. That looming 48-13 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Bruins yet this season.
Jack Lewis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 244 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. That high mark didn't come from nowhere: he now passed for three or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Richard Martin was another key player, rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Another reason for the win was Branham's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Thomas Nguyen and Joel Ruiz-Pineda who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Christopher). They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat Gilroy 47-0 on the road. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 243rd, while the Mustangs are ranked 894th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Christopher had a senior duo take command as Jaxen Robinson threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 passes and Ray Waller rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. The dominant performance gave Waller a new career-high in rushing yards.
Branham's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Christopher, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Branham has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 461.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Christopher struggles in that department as they've been averaging 357.2. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Branham was taken down by Christopher 55-6 in their previous matchup back in March of 2021. Thankfully for Branham, Logan Stelling (who rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
