Two dominant signal callers in Drew Otteson and Anthony Minoletti are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tonopah Muckers will head out on the road to face off against the Eureka Vandals at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Tonopah comes in on five and Eureka on nine.
With a playoff game on the line, Tonopah rose to the challenge on Friday. They didn't even let Sandy Valley onto the board and left with a 72-0 victory. Tonopah might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won eight matchups by 36 points or more this season.
Tonopah's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Dustin Otteson, who rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. Otteson was another key contributor, rushing for 99 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries.
Tonopah's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. Leading the way was Mitchell Miller and his three sacks.
Meanwhile, Eureka faced Mineral County in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Eureka put the hurt on Mineral County with a sharp 36-12 victory on Saturday. Eureka might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won seven matchups by 24 points or more this season.
Tonopah has yet to lose a matchup at home this season, leaving them with a 8-2 record. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-7 Laughlin and 2-5 Beatty (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 37.1% over those games). As for Eureka, their win bumped their record up to 9-0.
Tonopah was dealt a bruising 60-12 defeat at the hands of Eureka in their previous meeting back in September of 2022. Can Tonopah avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
