The Yreka Miners will head out on the road to square off against the Mazama Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Two weeks ago, Yreka came up short against Shasta and fell 28-21. While losing is never fun, the Miners can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 512th, while the Wolves are ranked 250th).
Despite the loss, Yreka got top-tier performance from Trevan Crane, who rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Crane showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 58 yards.
Even though they lost, Yreka was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 224 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in four consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 35-7, which was the final score in Mazama's tilt against Bend on Friday. The Vikings were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 21-0.
Mazama's defeat came about despite a quality game from Kai Otee Hunt, who picked up 99 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Having lost for the first time this season, Yreka fell to 2-1. As for Mazama, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Yreka has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 269.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Mazama struggles in that department as they've been averaging 233.7. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Yreka strolled past Mazama in their previous meeting back in September of 2015 by a score of 35-20. The rematch might be a little tougher for Yreka since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
