Volcano Vista is 1-9 against Cleveland since October of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Volcano Vista Hawks will challenge the Cleveland Storm at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a seven-game winning streak alive.
Volcano Vista is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Rio Rancho, who was ranked ninth in their home state at the time (Volcano Vista was ranked fourth). Volcano Vista's defense stepped up to hand Rio Rancho a 33-0 shutout on Friday. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Hawks just coasted through the last quarter.
Mason Gurule was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Those 151 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ilijah Hansen, who rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Volcano Vista was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 371 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Cleveland put their dominant defense on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Friday. They took their matchup on the road with ease, bagging a 54-0 victory over Piedra Vista. Considering the Storm have won six games by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Volcano Vista's win was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Cleveland, their record is now an identical 7-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Volcano Vista has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cleveland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 214.6. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Volcano Vista might still be hurting after the 35-12 defeat they got from Cleveland in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Volcano Vista, Harris Mbueha (who rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
