Jefferson is 0-3 against Denver West since October of 2016 but things could change on Friday. The Jefferson Saints will host the Denver West Cowboys at 4:00 p.m.
Jefferson will head into Thursday's matchup out to bounce back: they came back down to earth on Thursday after soaring to a 24-point contest in their last game. They fell just short of Prospect Ridge Academy by a score of 24-22. The Saints gained 184 more yards on the day, but it was the Miners that made the best use of them.
Jefferson's loss came about despite a quality game from Demitrias Martinez, who rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, and also threw for 133 yards on 14 of 20 attempts. Martinez's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 114 rushing yards dating back to last season. A healthy portion of that aerial production (87 yards to be exact) went to Jacob Ballejos.
Meanwhile, Denver West put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Manual 36-8 at home. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cowboys considering their 12-point performance the match before.
Denver West's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Marcelo Ortiz, who threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only six passes, and Jose Valencia, who rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Denver West was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 245 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in four consecutive games dating back to last season.
Denver West's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as King Stancil, Ernest Fields, and Zion Snoody picked up one apiece.
Jefferson now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Denver West, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Jefferson has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 222 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Denver West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 219. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Jefferson was dealt a bruising 48-2 defeat at the hands of Denver West when the teams last played back in September of 2021. Thankfully for Jefferson, Ahmed Hussein (who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
