Chaparral hasn't had much luck against Ponderosa recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Chaparral Wolverines will head out to take on the Ponderosa Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. After both made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Chaparral's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed last Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 30-0 win over Fruita Monument. The Wolverines' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Chaparral's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Gerik Ashford led the charge by rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Chaparral's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Adrian Lee with two. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 12. Chaparral got some further help from Angus Garvey: he picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made 14 total tackles (7.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Ponderosa was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Falcon 51-7 on the road. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Falcons are ranked 131st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ponderosa found their leader in underclassman Colter Espinoza, who threw for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown. Max Mervin was in the mix too, providing Ponderosa with three touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Ponderosa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
The victory got Chaparral back to even at 2-2. As for Ponderosa, their win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-2.
Chaparral was dealt a bruising 42-14 defeat at the hands of Ponderosa when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can Chaparral avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
