Palma extended their postseason success on Saturday against Menlo School. They pulled ahead with a 24-23 photo finish over the Menlo School Knights. The Chieftains have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Knights, too.
Palma found their leader in sophomore Eli Dukes, who rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.5 yards per carry, and also picked up 40 receiving yards. Dukes' rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 100 rushing yards.
Dukes was just one part of a punishing run game: Palma was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 272 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
When it comes to explaining why Menlo School lost, don't look at Jack Freehill. Despite the final result, he rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, and also threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Freehill a new career-high in rushing yards.
Palma has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 29.2 points per game. As for Menlo School, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 8-4 record.
Palma will challenge Wilcox at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Wilcox will roll in looking for their ninth straight victory, something Palma surely won't give up without a fight. Menlo School does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
