The King Wolves will challenge the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. King is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29.8 points per game this season.
Things were looking good for King after they put the first points on the board on Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 24-23 to Temecula Valley. While the Wolves had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Golden Bears 13-0.
King might have lost, but man, Noah Cuenca was a machine: he threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Cuenca a new career-high in rushing yards. Derek Conn was Cuenca's top target, picking up 118 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, King's defense still kept up the pressure with five sacks. Andrew Dixon was especially locked on to Temecula Valley's QB and sacked him four times. Dixon also set a new season high mark in sacks with four.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Murrieta Mesa). They blew past Corona 70-0 at home on Friday. Winning may never get old, but the Rams sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
It was another big night for Artyon Celestine, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Murrieta Mesa is undefeated when Celestine posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Trey Gamble Jr., who threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes.
Murrieta Mesa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Deshawn Reid, Chase Matthews, Jesse Wilhite, and Jacob Avila picked up one apiece. Reid is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last eight games he's played dating back to last season.
King's loss dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Murrieta Mesa, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. King has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Murrieta Mesa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 155.5. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
King ended up a good deal behind Murrieta Mesa in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, losing 31-14. Will King have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
