California Lutheran has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against The Hillcrest Trojans at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Two weeks ago, California Lutheran was fully in charge, breezing past Southlands Christian 60-22 at home. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point California Lutheran had established a 32 point advantage.
California Lutheran relied on the efforts of Colton McGee, who rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and Ren Ukai, who rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Lukas Shobe was in the mix as well, providing California Lutheran with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Hillcrest had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat La Sierra 49-6 on the road.
Hillcrest's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alfredo Vences, who rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Shaw, who picked up 116 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Their wins bumped California Lutheran to 5-3 and Hillcrest to 4-5.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. California Lutheran has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 233.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hillcrest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 155.7 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
