The Chaminade Eagles will square off against the Chaparral Pumas at 7:32 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Chaminade is likely headed into the game with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Notre Dame (SO) on Friday. The Eagles took a 27-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Knights.
Despite the loss, Chaminade had strong showings from Cameron Blackman, who rushed for 178 yards while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and Marquis Jones, who rushed for 41 yards and two touchdowns. Blackman showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 50 yards.
While Chaminade came up short, they sure didn't make it easy for Notre Dame (SO): they limited their QB to completion percentage of just 44.8%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from three players: Josiah Rand, Bryan Granger-Narcisse, and Elijah Williams, who each logged one passes deflected. Chaminade is 1-3 when they limit the passing game like that.
Chaminade's defense didn't let Wyatt Brown, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. Leading the way was Michael Bonnet with two. Another thorn in Notre Dame (SO)'s side was Ronnell Hewitt, who picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Chaparral faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Pumas were beaten by the Huskies 60-29. The defeat continues a trend for the Pumas in their meetings with the Huskies: they've now lost four in a row.
Chaminade will need to focus on slowing down Michael ( Kiko ) Farinas, one of several Chaparral players who made an impact when they last played. He picked up 140 receiving yards and three scores. With that strong performance, ( Kiko ) Farinas is now averaging an impressive 103.2 receiving yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Dane Weber, who threw for 355 yards and four TDs.
Chaminade's record now sits at 5-5. As for Chaparral, their record is now an identical 5-5.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Chaminade has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 176.9 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Chaparral has preferred to attack from the air: they average 270.9 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
