The Placer Hillmen will challenge the Del Oro Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Placer will be strutting in after a win while Del Oro will be coming in after a loss.
Last Friday, Placer humbled Rio Linda with a 54-7 victory. Given the Hillmen's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 210th, while the Knights are ranked 865th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Baylor Kelley was a one-man wrecking crew for Placer as he rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Kelley also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack, making two total tackles, and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception which he returned for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Placer was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 306 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in 13 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Placer wouldn't let Rio Linda keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Alex Lopez, Danny Sanchez, and Ivan De Silva picked up one apiece. De Silva didn't just play on offense: he also forced a fumble and made a tackle (1.0 for loss).
Del Oro kicked off their season on the road last Friday and hit a couple of potholes. The contest between them and Reed wasn't particularly close, with Del Oro falling 28-14.
Although Del Oro took the loss, they still got scores from Matt Ruhkala and Evan Hilmen.
Placer ended up a good deal behind Del Oro in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, losing 35-20. Thankfully for Placer, Caden Pinnick (who threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes, and also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
