The Hawthorne Cougars will head out on the road to face off against the El Monte Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hawthorne had no problem doing just that on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 22-20 victory over Anaheim. The win was just what Hawthorne needed coming off of a 49-0 defeat in their prior contest.
Obie Brown was the offensive standout of the game as he threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Zameere Medina, who gained 81 total yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Hawthorne's defense and their five sacks. Anaheim's QB won't forget Jonah Gray anytime soon given Gray sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, El Monte entered their tilt with Bishop Montgomery with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. El Monte snuck past Bishop Montgomery with a 55-50 victory on Friday. Yes, you read that score correctly, and yes, they were playing football.
El Monte relied on the efforts of Brandon Do, who rushed for 160 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries, and Felipe Taboada, who rushed for 328 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Do was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 67 yards.
Hawthorne's win bumped their record up to 5-6. As for El Monte, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-6.
