Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but unfortunately for The Kern Valley Broncs, they weren't the ones who walked away with it. They took a serious blow against Strathmore on Friday, falling 49-14. Kern Valley has not had much luck with Strathmore recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
When it comes to explaining why Kern Valley lost, one person who can't be blamed is Hunter Watts. Despite the final result, he rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also picked up 90 receiving yards. Watts was no stranger to the big play, connecting with a big catch that went for 61 yards.
It was another big night for Jacob Poole, who rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.7 yards per carry. Gerardo Ruiz was another major influence, as he rushed for 73 yards and ran in a TD.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Kern Valley to a paltry 193 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Strathmore's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out six times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Julian Ceballos and Pedro Corona who racked up six sacks between them.
Kern Valley's defeat was their fourth straight on the road , which bumped their record down to 3-8. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 8-2 Boron and 7-4 Sierra Pacific (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 65.5% over those games). As for Strathmore, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-4.
Kern Valley does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Strathmore will be playing in front of their home fans against Woodlake at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Woodlake is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
