The Mountain View Mountain Lions will square off against the Walden Grove Red Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mountain View is no doubt hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Mountain View will head into Friday's contest out to bounce back: they won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune last Friday. They were outmatched by Marana on the road and fell 46-13. While losing is never fun, the Mountain Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona football rankings (they are ranked 54th, while the Tigers are ranked sixth).
Although Mountain View took the loss, they still got scores from Damien Wallace and Ion Brin.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Walden Grove). They blew past Desert View 30-8 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Red Wolves have posted since October 13, 2023.
Walden Grove's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Robert Cash Iii, who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Walden Grove was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 209 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Walden Grove's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Jaxsen Philistine. Dominic Sanchez was another major factor on D, picking up two sacks, forcing a fumble, and making five total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Mountain View's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Walden Grove, the victory also got them back to even at 2-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Mountain View has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 156.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Walden Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 190.5. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Mountain View ended up a good deal behind Walden Grove when the teams last played back in September of 2023, losing 35-21. Thankfully for Mountain View, Gabriel Smith (who threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns while completing 90.9% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
