The Santiago Sharks will challenge the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Santiago is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Corona 56-15. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Sharks as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Santiago's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Austin Ellis, 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. Oscar Acosta was another key passer, throwing for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Santiago didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Devon Hwang and Conner Skaggs.
Meanwhile, Murrieta Mesa came tearing into Friday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. 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. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 73-yard run.
Another reason for the win was Murrieta Mesa's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. Isaiah Casillas was especially locked on to King's QB and sacked him 2.5 times. Casillas has been hot , having also posted six or more total tackles the last six times he's played. Murrieta Mesa got some further help from Derrick Hart: he made six total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended two passes.
Murrieta Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive matches.
Santiago's win bumped their record up 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 loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
