Empire came tearing into Friday's contest with six straight wins dating back to last season (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 points) and they left with even more momentum. They strolled past the La Joya Community Fighting Lobos with points to spare, taking the game 31-12. That's more bragging rights for the Ravens, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Brycen Duncan was nothing short of spectacular: he threw for 204 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 40 yards. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in rushing yards. Nikolas Bejarano was Duncan's top target, picking up 55 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Empire wouldn't let La Joya Community keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Empire can thank Alan Warden and Pedro Felix for forcing both of them. Felix also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a fumble and making 11 total tackles.
Several Fighting Lobos players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jayden Quick, who picked up 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. La Joya Community also got a significant boost from Zion Hills, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 103 yards.
Empire's victory was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. As for La Joya Community, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 0-2.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Empire will square off against Ironwood Ridge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for La Joya Community, they will face off against Westview at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
