The Santiago Sharks are taking a road trip to square off against the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Santiago is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 29 points per game this season.
Santiago is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Corona: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Santiago blew Corona out of the water with a 56-15 final score. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Sharks had established a 34 point advantage.
Santiago got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Austin Ellis out in front who picked up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Ellis is now averaging an impressive 100.7 receiving yards per game. Ke'Alohi Hoopii was in the mix as well, providing Santiago with three touchdowns.
Santiago wouldn't let Corona keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Martin Salgado Jr., Ryder Legere, and Floyd Watson Iii picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Murrieta Mesa entered their tilt with King on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They enjoyed a cozy 28-13 victory over the Wolves.
Artyon Celestine was his usual excellent self, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.4 yards per carry, and also picking up 47 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His longest rush was for an incredible 73 yards.
Murrieta Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 201 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Murrieta Mesa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Daniel Ritchie, Kian Hendricks, and Derrick Hart picked up one apiece. Isaiah Casillas was another major factor on D, picking up 2.5 sacks, forcing a fumble, and making 12 total tackles (5.0 for loss).
With the win, Santiago broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-7. As for Murrieta Mesa, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Santiago came up short against Murrieta Mesa in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 34-21. Can Santiago 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
