The Troy Warriors will square off against the Sonora Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for Troy at home against Segerstrom as the squad secured a 42-10 victory. With the Warriors ahead 28-3 at the half, the game was all but over already.
It was another big night for Vander Ploog, who picked up 194 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Rudy Alcala, who threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.3% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Troy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 232 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sonora). They blew past Redlands East Valley 65-42 on Friday. The win was familiar territory for the Raiders who have now won three matches in a row.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Anthony Abad and Nathen Lopez. Abad had a great game and rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns on only 15 carries. Meanwhile, Lopez was balling out in the loss, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, while also picking up 93 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Sonora's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jason Colligan and Olin Morales Hyder. The dominant performance also gave Morales Hyder a new career-high in rushing yards.
Troy's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Sonora, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Troy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 246.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sonora struggles in that department as they've been averaging 301.6. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Troy suffered a grim 34-14 defeat to Sonora in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Abad, who rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.5 yards per carry. Now that Troy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
