The Rio Americano Raiders will head out to face off against the Ponderosa Bruins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Rio Americano took a loss when they played away from home back in September, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed last Friday. They came out on top against Bella Vista by a score of 35-28.
Devin Pointes
| 10/03/25 vs Bella Vista | 2 |
| 09/19/25 vs Vista del Lago | 2 |
| 09/12/25 @ Cordova | 1 |
| 09/05/25 @ Del Campo | 1 |
Rio Americano can attribute much of their success to Ryder Trantham, who threw for 150 yards and one touchdown, and also punched in one score on the ground. Devin Pointes was in the mix too, providing the Raiders with two TDs.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Rio Americano, adding 11 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Pointes, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ponderosa). They put the hurt on Christian Brothers with a sharp 49-28 win on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bruins.
Ponderosa's win came from a few key players Rio Americano will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Zealand Jenks, who rushed for 76 yards and a pair of scores on only nine carries, and also picked up 45 receiving yards and one touchdown. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making three total tackles in addition to snagging an interception. Marshall Alvernaz was another key player, rushing for 88 yards and three TDs.
Rio Americano now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Ponderosa, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
Rio Americano was able to grind out a solid win over Ponderosa in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, winning 17-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Raiders 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
