Two dominant backs in Daniel Martinez and David Salas are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Santa Maria Cougars will take on the Kenedy Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
Santa Maria's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Premont, posting a 35-0 win. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 459th, while the Cowboys are ranked 960th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Santa Maria got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Luis Otero out in front who picked up 75 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Andre De La Rosa was another key rusher, rushing for 63 yards and one score on only eight carries.
Santa Maria didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Aaron Jimenez.
Meanwhile, Kenedy hadn't done well against Weimar recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Lions claimed a resounding 41-14 win over the Wildcats. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Lions had established a 20-point advantage.
Kenedy found their leader in freshman Jericho Jackson, who threw for 218 yards and four TDs on only 19 passes, and also punched in one rushing score. Jackson is becoming a predictor of the Lions' success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
Kenedy's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB six times. The heavy lifting was done by Nick McPherson and Richard Wilson, who racked up four sacks between them. McPherson is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season.
Santa Maria's record is now 7-3. As for Kenedy, their record now sits at 8-2.
