Whittier hasn't had much luck against La Serna recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Whittier Cardinals will be staying on the road to face off against the La Serna Lancers at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Whittier strolled past Carpinteria with points to spare, taking the game 20-6.
The critical scores for Whittier came from Angel Perez, Donovan Ruiz, and Johnathan Silva.
Whittier's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB five times. Leading the way was Daniel Castillo with two sacks.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask La Serna). They were the clear victor by a 42-18 margin over El Rancho on Friday. Given the Lancers' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 115th, while the Dons are ranked 403rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
La Serna found their leader in underclassman Grady Long, who threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 passes, and also rushed for 36 yards. Those 270 passing yards set a new season-high mark for Long.
The victory got Whittier back to even at 3-3. As for La Serna, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Whittier has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 192.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like La Serna struggles in that department as they've been averaging 148.9. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Whittier was taken down by La Serna 58-0 in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Whittier, Owen Long (who rushed for 37 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 30 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
