Portola has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. A feisty cat fight will be fought when Tigers takes on the Maxwell Panthers at 7:30 p.m.
Last Friday, Portola ended up a good deal behind Biggs and lost 30-13.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Maxwell). They claimed a resounding 63-28 win over Los Molinos at home. Considering the Panthers have won five games by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Erik New, who rushed for 298 yards and four touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also picked up 111 receiving yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 123.6 rushing yards per game. Noel Velazquez was another key player, throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes.
Maxwell wouldn't let Los Molinos keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Logan Lazarus, Rosendo Salazar, Tanner Vierra, and New picked up one apiece. Lazarus also set a new season high mark in total tackles with nine.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Maxwell was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 442 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Portola's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Maxwell, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Everything went Portola's way against Maxwell when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as Portola made off with a 35-13 win. Will Portola repeat their success, or does Maxwell have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
