The Grants Pirates will face off against the St. Pius X Sartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Grants is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Silver by a score of 14-7. The score was all tied up 0-0 at the break, but the Pirates were the better team in the second half.
Gary Chavez
| 09/12/25 vs Espanola Valley | 3.5 |
| 11/08/25 vs Silver | 3 |
| 10/24/25 vs Bernalillo | 2 |
| 08/22/25 @ Miyamura | 2 |
| 10/10/25 @ Taos | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
One reason for the win was Grants' imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Gary Chavez and Antonio Devargas, who racked up five sacks between them. Chavez has become a key player for Grants: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two sacks, but 3-4 otherwise.
Meanwhile, St. Pius X entered their tilt with Manzano last Saturday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They put the hurt on the Monarchs with a sharp 49-28 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Sartans just coasted through the last quarter.
Grants better keep an eye on Hershul Olloway Jr. He was instrumental in St. Pius X's win, rushing for 212 yards and four TDs while picking up 12.5 yards per carry, and also picking up 58 receiving yards. Olloway Jr is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 102 every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Carpenter, who threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 passes.
Grants' victory bumped their record up to 7-4. As for St. Pius X, their win bumped their record up to 8-1.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Grants has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 151.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Pius X struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 233 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Grants ended up a good deal behind St. Pius X when the teams last played back in August, losing 34-20. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
