The Mojave Rattlers are taking a road trip to take on the Foothill Falcons at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Mojave will be strutting in after a win while Foothill will be coming in after a defeat.
On Friday, Mojave made easy work of Palo Verde and carried off a 34-10 victory. Considering the Rattlers have won four games by more than 23 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Mojave's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was S'Marion Coleman, who picked up 113 receiving yards and one TD, and also rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 88 yards. Mojave also got a significant boost from Francisco Reinares, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 155 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Mojave was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 348 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Elijah Richard
| 10/24/25 vs Palo Verde | 2 |
| 09/26/25 vs Pinecrest Academy Cadence | 2 |
| 10/17/25 @ Centennial | 1 |
| 09/05/25 @ Desert Pines | 1 |
Mojave didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Elijah Richard and Demico Zamora. Richard is becoming a predictor of Mojave's success: when he posts at least one interception the team is 3-1 (and 2-4 when he doesn't). The Rattlers got some further help from Jray Vele: he made ten total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Foothill faced Faith Lutheran in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Falcons took a 30-24 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Crusaders. The Falcons gained 104 more yards on the day, but it was the Crusaders that made the best use of them.
Mojave will need to focus on slowing down Ryder Dobbs, one of several Foothill players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 41 yards and one score, and also threw for 117 yards and one touchdown on only ten passes. Another player making a difference was Tyce Mauro, who picked up 103 receiving yards and one TD.
Mojave is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 29.8 points over those games. As for Foothill, with the loss, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 6-4.
Mojave came up short against Foothill when the teams last played back in August, falling 34-28. Can the Rattlers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
