Two dominant signal callers in Daniel Gonzalez and Matthew Ramos are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Arlington Lions and the Hillcrest Trojans will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Two weeks ago, Arlington came up short against Bell Gardens and fell 29-21.
Despite the loss, Arlington got top-tier performance from Gonzalez, who rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 231 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.6 yards per attempt. Another player making a difference was Andrew Rogers, who picked up 112 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, while Hillcrest put up plenty of points last Friday, the same can't be said for Lakeside. Hillcrest took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 37-0 victory over Lakeside. The result was nothing new for the Trojans, who have now won three matchups by 33 points or more so far this season.
Ramos continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 281 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.2 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 33 yards and two touchdowns. Julian Sandoval was Ramos' top target, picking up 127 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Hillcrest's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. Jayden Nieto was especially locked on to Lakeside's QB and sacked him twice. Ziah Guerrero was another major factor on D, picking up 1.5 sacks, making five total tackles (2.5 for loss), and defending a pass.
Arlington's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Hillcrest, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Arlington has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 224.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hillcrest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 252.4. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Arlington came up short against Hillcrest in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 31-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hillcrest's Robert Bustamante, who rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Now that Arlington knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
