The Bovina Mustangs will face off against the Stratford Elks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Bovina sitting on three straight victories and Stratford on six.
Bovina is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with a 24-16 win over Seagraves.
Alex Herrera was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 128 yards while picking up 7.5 yards per carry, and also picked up 46 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Bovina was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 153 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Stratford got themselves on the board against Tahoka on Friday, but Tahoka never followed suit. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bulldogs 35-0. Considering the Elks have won eight matchups by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Stratford's victory came down to the chemistry between Chase Lantelme and his top target Darius Jones. Lantelme threw for 195 yards and four TDs on only 18 passes while Jones gained 160 total yards and two touchdowns. That's the most passing touchdowns Lantelme has posted since back in September. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Romero, who picked up 63 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Stratford's record now sits at 10-2. As for Bovina, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Bovina has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 197 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Stratford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 169.1 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Bovina was dealt a bruising 56-12 defeat at the hands of Stratford in their previous matchup back in October. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lantelme, who threw for 126 yards and three TDs on only 11 passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. Now that the Mustangs know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
