The La Salle Lightning will hit the road for the first time this season to challenge the Columbia Coyotes at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Columbia took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on La Salle, who comes in off a win.
Last Friday, La Salle earned a 28-20 victory over Tri-Cities Prep. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lightning.
La Salle's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Johan Valladares, who rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 171 yards and a touchdown on only 11 passes. Valladares didn't just play on offense: he also made seven total tackles and defended a pass in addition to snagging two interceptions. Another player making a difference was Kai Hanrahan, who picked up 149 receiving yards and a touchdown.
La Salle's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Valladares.
Meanwhile, Columbia couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They were outmatched by Northwest Christian School at home and fell 47-6. While losing is never fun, the Coyotes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington football rankings (they are ranked 240th, while the Crusaders are ranked 69th).
Everything came up roses for La Salle against Columbia when the teams last played back in November of 2016 as the team secured a 63-32 victory. In that matchup, La Salle amassed a halftime lead of 42-20, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
