The Casa Grande Gauchos had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29.3 points), and they went ahead and made it seven on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 51-30 margin over American Canyon. The result was nothing new for Casa Grande, who have now won five contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
Leading Casa Grande to victory were Zach Herrera and Danny Mercado. Herrera rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns, while Mercado threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Mercado was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards.
Casa Grande's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Leading the way was Marco Novoa and his two sacks.
Despite the loss, American Canyon still got an impressive performance from Mason Harris, who rushed for 83 yards on only ten carries, and also threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Webster Burks also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Casa Grande's victory was their eighth straight at home (dating back to last season), bumping their overall record up to 7-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 44.8 points per game. As for American Canyon, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-4.
Casa Grande will head out on the road to face off against Petaluma at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Petaluma's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last four games. American Canyon will have plenty of time to ponder what went wrong as they've got a bye scheduled next week. After, they'll take on Justin-Siena at 7:00 p.m. on November 3rd.
