It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Calexico had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They managed a 32-26 win over the Imperial Tigers. Calexico's victory was all the more impressive since the Tigers were averaging only 13.55 points allowed on the season.
A big part of Calexico's win came down to the chemistry between Giovanna Ortiz and her top target Paula Nicole Cruz. Ortiz threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per attempt while Cruz picked up 122 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Cruz's longest reception was for an incredible 80 yards. Maria Jose Gastelum was another key player, picking up 156 receiving yards.
Calexico's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB four times. The heavy lifting was done by Joana Brambila and Madeline Montes, who racked up all four sacks between them. Montes also made five total tackles, which is notable because Calexico is 9-4 when she posts at least four total tackles, but 3-4 otherwise.
Despite the loss, Imperial saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Mirella Barron threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Those 366 passing yards set a new season-high mark for Barron. Another player making a difference was Addison Clark, who gained 137 total yards.
Calexico is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 30.9 points per game. As for Imperial, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-8.
Calexico will host Carlsbad at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Carlsbad sitting on three straight victories and Calexico on five. Imperial does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
