Two dominant backs in Lazaro Faraj-Washington and Adonyae Brown are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Archbishop Mitty Monarchs will head out on the road to take on the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Archbishop Mitty will head out to face Archbishop Riordan after giving up their first home loss of the season on Friday. The Monarchs took a 28-13 bruising from Junipero Serra. While losing is never fun, the Monarchs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 85th, while the Padres are ranked 30th).
Although Archbishop Mitty took the loss, they still got scores from Kai Sniffen and Joseph Engin.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Riordan put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They were the clear victors by a 35-13 margin over Bellarmine College Prep. With the Crusaders ahead 35-0 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Archbishop Mitty better keep an eye on Michael Mitchell Jr.. He was instrumental in Archbishop Riordan's win, throwing for 202 yards and four touchdowns while completing 82.4% of his passes. What's more, Mitchell Jr. racked up 159.8 passer rating, the most he's had since back in October of 2024. Kyle Welch did his part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 28 receiving yards.
One reason for the win was Archbishop Riordan's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Zachary Kleppin, Pita Tanielu, and Weston Rinker, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Archbishop Mitty's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Archbishop Riordan, their win bumped their record up to 8-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Archbishop Mitty has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 165.9 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Archbishop Riordan has preferred to attack from the air: they average 294.2 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
Archbishop Mitty was taken down by Archbishop Riordan 42-13 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Monarchs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
