Two dominant backs in Jaylen Malcom and Michael Murphy are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Santa Teresa Saints will be playing in front of their home fans against the Branham Bruins at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Santa Teresa will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Santa Teresa will bounce into Friday's game after beating Christopher, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Saints came out on top against the Cougars by a score of 27-16 on Thursday.
Santa Teresa got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Prince Collins out in front who picked up 90 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Santa Teresa proved: they limited Christopher to a paltry three yards per carry. The Saints' ground attack was stronger, having averaged 5.2.
Meanwhile, Branham was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 52-46 to Live Oak. While the Bruins had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Acorns 13-7.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Murphy and Gage Jones. Jones had a great game and rushed for 328 yards and four TDs while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Murphy was balling out in the loss, rushing for 230 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 8.8 yards per carry, and also picking up 67 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Branham's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Santa Teresa, their win bumped their record up to 8-0.
Santa Teresa didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Branham in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 34-28 victory. Do the Saints have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bruins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
