Barstow is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Granite Hills is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Barstow Aztecs will take on the Granite Hills Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Barstow sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 14-12 win over Silverado. Given Barstow's advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 218th, while Silverado is ranked 445th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Barstow's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB seven times. The heavy lifting was done by Drelyn Brown and Samuelu Tofaeono who racked up 4.5 sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Granite Hills put the finishing touches on their fifth blowout victory of the season two weeks ago. They really took it to Victor Valley for the full four quarters, racking up a 47-14 win at home. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Granite Hills had established a 20 point advantage.
Kameron Smith continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 289 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry, and also catching a touchdown. Smith really tore up the turf during one magnificent 82-yard run. Another player making a difference was Sayani Long, who rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries.
Barstow's win bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Granite Hills, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Thursday's match might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Barstow has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 231.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Granite Hills struggles in that department as they've been even better at 274.2 per game. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Barstow came out on top in a nail-biter against Granite Hills when the teams last played back in September of 2022, sneaking past 41-38. Will Barstow repeat their success, or does Granite Hills have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
