Damien is 0-9 against Rancho Cucamonga since November of 2014 but things could change on Friday. The Damien Spartans will challenge the Rancho Cucamonga Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Damien is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.
Damien will head into Thursday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they only won by three when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 31-point they dealt Ayala on Thursday. Damien took their contest with ease, bagging a 38-7 win over Ayala. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 25th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 184th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Malachi Mcfarland had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 53 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Isaiah Arriaza was another key player, having thrown for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
Damien was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 202 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
One reason for the win was Damien's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Declan Becher was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. Damien got some further help from Caden Arellano: he forced a fumble, made nine total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Rancho Cucamonga's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell 31-21 to Chino Hills.
Damien's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-2. As for Rancho Cucamonga, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.
Damien and Rancho Cucamonga were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, but Damien came up empty-handed after a 36-35 loss. Can Damien avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
