The Kingsburg Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Tulare Union The Tribe at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Kingsburg had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They claimed a resounding 42-8 victory over Dinuba at home. Given Kingsburg's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 152nd, while Dinuba is ranked 329th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Max Warkentin had a dynamite game for Kingsburg, throwing for 229 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground. Warkentin hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for three straight games. Kaleb Pedersen and his 92 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Kingsburg's win.
Meanwhile, Tulare Union gave up the first points last Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They really took it to San Luis Obispo for the full four quarters, racking up a 42-14 win at home. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Tulare Union.
Tulare Union got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jordan Crisp out in front who threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns while completing 91.4% of his passes. Crisp has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Sonny Guess, who gained 109 total yards and two touchdowns.
Kingsburg pushed their record up to 9-2 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 32.0 points per game. As for Tulare Union, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.
Kingsburg took a serious blow against Tulare Union when the teams last played back in September, falling 42-12. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Tulare Union's Crisp, who threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns while completing 82.6% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Now that Kingsburg knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
