Two dominant backs in Zander Lewis and Artyon Celestine are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Ontario Christian Knights will venture away from home to challenge the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Ontario Christian is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.
Ontario Christian's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Valley Christian, posting a 29-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Knights, who have now won three games by 26 points or more so far this season.
Lewis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.4 yards per carry, and also picking up 107 receiving yards and a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional for a while as that marked his ninth straight game with at least 117 rushing yards. Daniel Mielke Ii was another key player, throwing for 245 yards and two touchdowns on only 19 passes.
Ontario Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 182 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Ontario Christian's defense and their six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Zeke Escalante and Kellan Kirkpatrick, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Murrieta Mesa entered their tilt with Santiago on Friday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They blew past the Sharks 29-3. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 175th, while the Sharks are ranked 494th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Celestine was his usual excellent self, rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry. Murrieta Mesa is undefeated when Celestine posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise.
Murrieta Mesa didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Nathaniel Weideman, Jesse Wilhite, and Derrick Hart picked up one apiece. Murrieta Mesa got some further help from Isaiah Casillas: he picked up 0.5 sacks, made seven total tackles (4.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Ontario Christian's record is now 6-4. As for Murrieta Mesa, their record is now an identical 6-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Ontario Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 204.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Murrieta Mesa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 178.2. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
