The Grand Junction Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Cheyenne Mountain Red-Tailed Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Cheyenne Mountain is hoping to do what Centaurus couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Grand Junction's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Grand Junction blew past Centaurus 42-22. With the Tigers ahead 36-8 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Grand Junction can attribute much of their success to Mathias Martinez, who rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, and Noah Watkins, who rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. That's the most rushing yards Watkins has posted since back in October of 2023. Another player making a difference was Will Applegate, who rushed for 16 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Grand Junction was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 303 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 178 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Grand Junction didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Rylan Mulvey and Jack Steury.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Cheyenne Mountain, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They claimed a resounding 56-6 win over Thornton at home. That looming 56-6 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Red-Tailed Hawks yet this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cheyenne Mountain to victory, but perhaps none more so than Sam Hawker, who rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 53 yards and two touchdowns on only five passes. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 50 yards. Cheyenne Mountain also got a significant boost from Tyler Kriss, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 97 yards.
Cheyenne Mountain's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. Darius Hughes was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sackshimself.
Grand Junction's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Cheyenne Mountain, their record now sits at 6-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Grand Junction has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 238.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cheyenne Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 240.4. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
