Calexico is 0-9 against Brawley since October of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Calexico Bulldogs will head out on the road to face off against the Brawley Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Calexico will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 583rd, while Brawley is ranked 261st).
Calexico had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Southwest EC by a score of 21-8 on Friday.
Calexico's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Leo Canchola, who rushed for 103 yards on only ten carries. Roberto Montejano was another key contributor, throwing for 91 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Southwest EC to a paltry 218 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Calexico's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Marlon Sanchez and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, everything went Brawley's way against Imperial on Friday as Brawley made off with a 42-16 win. 42 seems to be a good number for Brawley as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Matthew Gutierrez continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 125 yards and three touchdowns, while also punching in two touchdowns on the ground. Brandon Porras also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Their wins bumped Calexico to 5-3 and Brawley to 7-1.
Thursday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Calexico has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 164.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Brawley struggles in that department as they've been even better at 177.1 per game. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Calexico was dealt a bruising 42-8 defeat at the hands of Brawley when the teams last played back in October of 2022. Thankfully for Calexico, Ethan Gutierrez (who threw for 203 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
