The El Modena Vanguards will head out on the road to take on the La Habra Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, El Modena didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Cypress, but they still walked away with a 27-22 win. Given the Vanguards' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 100th, while the Centurions are ranked 263rd) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, La Habra blew past Foothill, posting a 40-7 victory. With the Highlanders ahead 33-0 at the half, the game was all but over already.
El Modena better keep an eye on DJ Mitchell. He was instrumental in La Habra's win, throwing for 290 yards and five touchdowns on only 17 passes. What's more, Mitchell racked up 142.8 passer rating, the most he's had since back in November of 2024. A healthy portion of Mitchell's aerial production (107 yards to be exact) went to Blake (Blaze) Rogers, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something La Habra proved: they limited Foothill to a paltry 2.4 yards per carry. The team can thank Luke Hedgpeth for the heroic effort on defense: he. La Habra is a perfect 7-0 when they shut down the run game so well.
La Habra's defense didn't let Jake Lind, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Barrett Blied and Hedgpeth, who racked up all four sacks between them. Blied is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in each of the last six games he's played.
The win made it two in a row for La Habra and bumps their season record up to 7-3. The team dominated over those games too, winning by an average of 31 points. As for El Modena, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
El Modena came out on top in a nail-biter against La Habra in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, sneaking past 38-35. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vanguards since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
