Two dominant signal callers in Xavier Silva and Gus Petterson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tulelake Honkers are on the road again on Friday to play the Loyalton Grizzlies at 6:00 p.m. Tulelake is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.7 points per game this season.
Tulelake is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Hayfork, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Tulelake was ranked 15th). Tulelake lost 44-22 to Hayfork last Friday. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Honkers, who until this game were averaging 13.33 points allowed.
Silva put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns. He showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 50 yards.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Loyalton rose to the challenge on Saturday. They walked away with a 24-14 win over the Vikings.
Petterson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 43 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making three total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception.
Loyalton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Polo Lopez and Petterson.
Loyalton's victory bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Tulelake, with the defeat, they broke their five-game winning streak and moved their record to 7-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Tulelake has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 403.1 total yards per game. It's a different story for Loyalton, though, as they've been averaging only 238.1. Will Tulelake be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Loyalton flip the script?
Everything came up roses for Tulelake against Loyalton in their previous matchup back in October, as the squad secured a 52-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Tulelake since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
