With a playoff game on the line, Mainland Regional rose to the challenge on Friday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 36-35 victory over the Somerville Pioneers. Mainland Regional's win was all the more impressive since the Pioneers were averaging only 10.31 points allowed on the season.
Several Pioneers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Brenden Pacheco, who threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown. Terrell Mitchell was another key rusher, gaining 151 total yards and a touchdown.
The victory (which was Mainland Regional's fifth in a row) raised their record to 10-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 39.2 points per game. As for Somerville, they moved to 12-1 with that defeat, which also ended their 12-game winning streak.
Mainland Regional will head out to square off against NV - Old Tappan at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. NV - Old Tappan is on a five-game streak of home wins, Mainland Regional a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. Somerville does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
