The Eastwood Troopers are taking a road trip to square off against the Eastlake Falcons at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Eastwood knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past four matchups -- so hopefully Eastlake likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Eastwood blew past Socorro, posting a 49-14 victory at home. Given the Troopers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 300th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 938th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eastwood's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jayden Martinez led the charge by rushing for 169 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Martinez's longest rush was for an incredible 83 yards. Jude Walker also helped out with an impressive 142 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Eastwood's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Jonathan Hernandez was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up threehimself. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 12. Eastwood got some further help from Konrad Joseph-Garcia: he picked up a sack, made 13 total tackles (5.0 for loss), and made 13 total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eastwood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 285 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 285 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Eastlake came into Friday's match having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They secured a 36-32 W over Montwood on Friday.
A big part of Eastlake's win came down to the chemistry between Luke Lomeli and his top target Jayden Muro. Lomeli threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while Muro picked up 72 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Eastwood now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Eastlake, their victory bumped their record up to 2-3.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Eastwood has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 231.4 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Eastlake has preferred to attack from the air: they average 292.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Eastwood against Eastlake in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 56-22 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Lomeli, who threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 49 yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Eastwood still be able to contain Lomeli? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
