The Espanola Valley Sundevils will take on the St. Pius X Sartans at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Espanola Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their match with ease, bagging a 28-0 victory over Taos. The win was familiar territory for the Sundevils who have now won three games in a row.
Espanola Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 291 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September.
Espanola Valley wouldn't let Taos keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Espanola Valley can thank Nick Sandoval and Leonard Martinez for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, St. Pius X entered their tilt with Grants on Saturday with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They blew past the Pirates, posting a 46-14 victory. With the Sartans ahead 43-14 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
St. Pius X found their leader in sophomore Hershul Olloway Jr, who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.5 yards per carry. Olloway Jr's rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 121 rushing yards. Isaiah Carpenter was another key player, throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.9 yards per attempt.
St. Pius X pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.0 points per game. As for Espanola Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Espanola Valley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 260.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Pius X struggles in that department as they've been averaging 176. It's looking like Saturday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Espanola Valley took their victory against St. Pius X in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a conclusive 31-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for Espanola Valley since the squad 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
