The Riverside Rangers will venture away from home to square off against the Austin Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Riverside will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Last Friday, Riverside took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 48-7 win over Mountain View. That 41 point margin sets a new team best for the Rangers this season.
Carlos Rojas Iii was his usual excellent self, rushing for 99 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 190 yards and four touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. He didn't just play on offense: he also picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made four total tackles. Ricardo Briones was Rojas Iii's top target, picking up 55 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Riverside was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 272 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 272 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Austin came tearing into Friday's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down the Rockets 31-14.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Oscar Flores and he. Flores rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry while he rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry. Sal Duarte was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 64 yards.
Austin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Anakin Torres, Andruw Andujo, and Joel Castaneda picked up one apiece.
Riverside's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Austin, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Riverside has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 271.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Austin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 314.7. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Riverside beat Austin 29-20 when the teams last played back in October of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Riverside since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
