Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Imperial). They secured a 52-47 W over the Valley Center Jaguars on Friday. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Tigers, who until this matchup were averaging 14.67 points allowed.
Imperial's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jayden Ayala led the charge by throwing for 344 yards and five touchdowns while completing 87.5% of his passes. Imperial also got a significant boost from Deren Hueso, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 145 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Imperial was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 277 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 168 rushing yards in six consecutive matches.
Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Braylon Mitchell, who threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per attempt. Dustin Hotchkiss was Mitchell's top target, picking up 149 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Imperial pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Valley Center, their loss dropped their record down to 4-2.
Imperial wasted no time getting back out on the field and has already played their next contest, a 26-14 win against Central on the 4th. As for Valley Center, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 56-0 victory against Vista on the 4th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
