Arlington Heights has won three straight games at home, while Saginaw has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Arlington Heights Yellowjackets will welcome the Saginaw Rough Riders at 7:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Arlington Heights' defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They breezed by Polytechnic at home to the tune of 63-0. Considering the Yellowjackets have won four matchups by more than 30 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Arlington Heights' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kaeden Grant, who threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes, and Carson James, who rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. James is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Yakeime Thomas, who picked up 38 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Saginaw was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Trimble Tech 35-0 on the road. Given the Rough Riders' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 309th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 877th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Saginaw's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Roman Morales, who threw for 115 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also punched in a rushing score. Corey Baker was another key player, rushing for 98 yards on only eight carries.
Saginaw wouldn't let Trimble Tech keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Cody Anderson was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
Arlington Heights' win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Saginaw, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Thursday's contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Grant and Morales. Grant has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 144 passing yards and has 11 passing touchdowns on the season. For his part, Morales has averaged 164.8 passing yards and has 10 passing touchdowns on the season.
Everything came up roses for Arlington Heights against Saginaw when the teams last played back in October of 2021, as the team secured a 54-17 win. Does Arlington Heights have another victory up their sleeve, or will Saginaw turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
