The Patrick Henry Patriots will face off against the Escondido Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Escondido took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Patrick Henry, who comes in off a win.
Escondido is hoping to do what West Hills couldn't on Friday: put an end to Patrick Henry's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Patrick Henry claimed a resounding 49-14 win over West Hills at home. Considering the Patriots have won three matches by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Patrick Henry to victory, but perhaps none more so than Cody Cappelletti, who rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Cappelletti's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 124 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Ruiz, who threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Patrick Henry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks on offense in their last three games, Escondido finally came back down to earth on Friday. They were beaten by Oceanside 49-12. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 413th, while the Pirates are ranked 149th).
Despite the loss, Escondido saw an underclassman step up: Caden Thompson threw for 202 yards and a touchdown while completing 80% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. A healthy portion of that aerial production (93 yards to be exact) went to Josh Gonzales.
Patrick Henry's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Escondido, they dropped their record down to 2-2 with the defeat, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Patrick Henry has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 218.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Escondido struggles in that department as they've been averaging 162.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Patrick Henry was able to grind out a solid win over Escondido in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 45-34. Will Patrick Henry repeat their success, or does Escondido have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
