The Paloma Valley Wildcats were the 21-7 winner over the Hemet Bulldogs when they last played one another back in October of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Paloma Valley and Hemet were almost perfectly matched up on Thursday, but Paloma Valley suffered an agonizing 28-27 loss.
Paloma Valley's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Brady Nelson, who threw for 361 yards and a touchdown, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Arthur Clemons also helped out as he racked up 114 receiving yards.
Among those leading the charge was Daniel Mendoza, who rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a touchdown. Tyler Trout got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Hemet's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. Paloma Valley's QB won't forget Luke Hepler anytime soon given Hepler sacked him seven times.
Paloma Valley's loss dropped their record down to 7-3. As for Hemet, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Paloma Valley will be playing in front of their home fans against Lakeside at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lakeside is hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses. As for Hemet, they will head out on the road to face off against Valley View at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Valley View comes in on a streak of failing to score more than ten points in their last three games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse.
