Ponderosa is 1-0 against Thomas Jefferson since October of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Ponderosa Mustangs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Thomas Jefferson Spartans at 1:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Ponderosa had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 31 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They claimed a resounding 49-7 victory over Far Northeast W on the road. With Ponderosa ahead 28-7 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Max Mervin and Sean Davis were among the main playmakers for Ponderosa as the former rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries and the latter rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their undefeated season alive. They really took it to Liberty for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-10 win on the road. Given Thomas Jefferson's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado football rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while Liberty is ranked 167th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Thomas Jefferson got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Dimitri Haralambopoulos out in front who rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Jake Tapia, who rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries.
Their wins bumped Ponderosa to 5-3 and Thomas Jefferson to 8-0.
We should be in store for an exciting game Saturday as both teams have no problem gaining yardage. Ponderosa has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 360.1 total yards per game. However, it's not like Thomas Jefferson struggles in that department as they've been even better at 428.4 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Ponderosa won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in October of 2022, slipping by Thomas Jefferson 7-6. Does Ponderosa have another victory up their sleeve, or will Thomas Jefferson turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
