The Escondido Cougars will venture away from home to face off against the Patrick Henry Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Escondido is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 47 points two weeks ago, they were much more limited against Oceanside on Friday. They were dealt a 49-12 defeat at the hands of the Pirates. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 413th, while the Pirates are ranked 149th).
Despite the loss, Escondido saw an underclassman step up: Caden Thompson threw for 202 yards and a touchdown while completing 80% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. A healthy portion of that aerial production (93 yards to be exact) went to Josh Gonzales.
Meanwhile, Patrick Henry waltzed into their match on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They claimed a resounding 49-14 win over the Wolf Pack at home. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won three contests by 29 points or more so far this season.
Patrick Henry's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Cody Cappelletti led the charge by rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Cappelletti's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 124 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Ruiz, who threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Patrick Henry was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 206 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 174 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.
Escondido dropped their record down to 2-2 with the defeat, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Patrick Henry, their record now sits at 4-1.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Escondido has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 162.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Patrick Henry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 218.4. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Escondido came up short against Patrick Henry in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 45-34. Can Escondido avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
