La Mirada is 0-4 against Downey since November of 2018 but things could change on Friday. After each having a week off, both will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Two weeks ago, La Mirada had to suffer through a 48-21 loss at the hands of La Habra. While losing is never fun, the Matadores can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 340th, while the Highlanders are ranked 85th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jordan Lauago, who rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, and also picked up 47 receiving yards. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making eight total tackles. Santino Garcia was another key signal caller, throwing for 217 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Downey's undefeated season came to an end after four games last Friday. They fell just short of Red Mountain by a score of 35-32. Despite 176 more yards than the Mountain Lions, the Vikings couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Downey might have lost, but man, Oscar Rios was a machine: he rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per attempt. With that strong performance, Rios is now averaging an impressive 308.6 passing yards per game. Caleb Juregui was Rios' top target, picking up 143 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Downey wouldn't let Red Mountain keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Downey can thank Oscar Aguilar and Desmin Joshway-Fairley for forcing both of them. Aguilar is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last 12 games he's played dating back to last season. Aidan Gomez was another major factor on D, making 11 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
La Mirada's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Downey, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
Things could have been worse for La Mirada, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 51-34 loss to Downey when the teams last played back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rios, who threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 65 yards. Now that La Mirada knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
