Weston Ranch has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on The Linden Lions at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Weston Ranch will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 731st, while Linden is ranked 334th).
Last Friday, Weston Ranch blew past Franklin, posting a 41-8 win at home. Weston Ranch pushed the score to 41-0 by the end of the third, a deficit Franklin cut but never quite recovered from.
Weston Ranch's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jose Aguilar led the charge by rushing for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 214 yards and a touchdown on only 19 passes. Juju Sasser was another key contributor, picking up 154 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Linden stacked a seventh blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They didn't even let Stagg onto the board and left with a 35-0 win. The victory was just what Linden needed coming off of a 40-14 loss in their prior matchup.
Linden can attribute much of their success to Landen Ly, who rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Ly really tore up the turf during one magnificent 82-yard run. Jay Reams got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Their wins bumped Weston Ranch to 4-5 and Linden to 7-2.
Friday's match might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Weston Ranch has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Linden struggles in that department as they've been even better at 175.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Weston Ranch came out on top in a nail-biter against Linden when the teams last played back in October of 2022, sneaking past 26-23. The rematch might be a little tougher for Weston Ranch since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
