The Cleveland Storm are on the road again on Friday to play the Pebble Hills Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Cleveland knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 point or more in their past three matches -- so hopefully Pebble Hills likes a good challenge.
Cleveland is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Las Cruces, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (Cleveland was ranked third). Cleveland came out on top against Las Cruces by a score of 35-25 on Thursday.
It was another big night for Isaiah Yannis, who rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the contest if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Pebble Hills' strategy against Americas on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Pebble Hills blew Americas out of the water with a 63-14 final score. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 276th, while the Trail Blazers are ranked 600th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pebble Hills can attribute much of their success to Zereian Quarles, who gained 157 total yards and two touchdowns, and Joe Fernandez, who rushed for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
Pebble Hills wouldn't let Americas keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force five fumbles. It was a group effort, with five picking up one apiece. Dorian Jaramillo is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last 14 games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pebble Hills was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 268 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Americas only rushed for 121.
Cleveland's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. As for Pebble Hills, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Cleveland has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pebble Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 206.7. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
