Eastlake was the 35-7 winner over Rio Rancho when they last played one another back in September of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Eastlake Falcons fell to the Rio Rancho Rams 26-21. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 381st in Texas, while the Rams are ranked tenth in New Mexico).
Luke Lomeli and Jayden Sharpe certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. Lomeli threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, while Sharpe picked up 82 receiving yards and a touchdown.
A big part of Rio Rancho's victory came down to the chemistry between Micah Takahashi and his top target Jace Pitt. Takahashi rushed for 186 yards while picking up 8.1 yards per carry while Pitt picked up 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns. With that strong performance, Takahashi is now averaging an impressive 111.6 rushing yards per game.
Eastlake is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-3. As for Rio Rancho, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Eastlake is on the road again on Friday to play Montwood at 7:30 p.m. Both are at an even 3-3 against one another since September of 2018, but likely not for long. As for Rio Rancho, they will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Cibola at 7:00 p.m. on October 4th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
