It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Rio Mesa can now relate to. They came up short against the La Serna Lancers on Friday, falling 56-35.
Several Spartans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Isaiah Bautista, who rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also caught a touchdown. Bautista showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 56 yards. Another signal caller making a difference was JJ Bittner, who threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
Ayden Contreras went supernova for La Serna, rushing for 246 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 14.5 yards per carry. Contreras also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making eight total tackles and defending two passes in addition to snagging an interception. Grady Long was another key player, rushing for 33 yards and a touchdown.
Rio Mesa has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season. As for La Serna, the victory was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-3.
Rio Mesa does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for La Serna, they will challenge Summit at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Summit's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last six matchups.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
