Piedra Vista is 0-3 against Cleveland since October of 2016 but things could change on Friday. The Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Storm at 7:00 p.m. Piedra Vista has given up an average of 27.3 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Piedra Vista's last matchup with Rio Rancho could've gone either way, but unfortunately the same can't be said for the pair's contest on Thursday. The Panthers lost 34-13 to the Rams. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-7.
Meanwhile, Cleveland faced Cibola in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Storm put the hurt on the Cougars with a sharp 27-6 victory. Those 27 points were actually the fewest the Storm have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Cleveland's win came from a few key players Piedra Vista will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jordan Hatch, who threw for 293 yards and three TDs while completing 73.9% of his passes. Those 293 passing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jacob Maldonado, who picked up 154 receiving yards and one score.
Cleveland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cibola only rushed for 73.
The win (which was Cleveland's third in a row) raised their record to 6-1. The victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 8.7 points on average over those games. As for Piedra Vista, they now have a losing record of 3-4.
Piedra Vista took a serious blow against Cleveland in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 54-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hatch, who threw for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only ten passes, and also punched in one TD on the ground. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
