The Murrieta Mesa Rams will square off against the Santiago Sharks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Murrieta Mesa will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Last Friday, Murrieta Mesa didn't have too much trouble with King as they won 28-13.
Artyon Celestine continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.4 yards per carry, and also picking up 47 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 100.4 rushing yards per game.
Murrieta Mesa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Daniel Ritchie, Kian Hendricks, and Derrick Hart picked up one apiece. Isaiah Casillas was another major factor on D, picking up 2.5 sacks, forcing a fumble, and making 12 total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Murrieta Mesa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Santiago). They breezed by Corona to the tune of 56-15 on Friday. The win was some much needed relief for the Sharks as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Santiago's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Austin Ellis led the charge by picking up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Oscar Acosta was another key passer, throwing for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Santiago wouldn't let Corona keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Santiago can thank Martin Salgado Jr. and Floyd Watson Iii for forcing both of them.
Murrieta Mesa now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Santiago, their victory bumped their record up to 2-7.
Murrieta Mesa was able to grind out a solid win over Santiago in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 34-21. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Ellis, who picked up 112 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Murrieta Mesa still be able to contain Ellis? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
