Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only the Western Pioneers walked away with it. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Apple Valley 49-19 at home. Western is really starting to get used to good results now that the team's won 11 straight.
Western's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Anthony Luna led the charge by throwing for 147 yards and three touchdowns, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground. Luna has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last seven times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jj Amezcua, who picked up 90 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Western's defense and their six sacks. Amezcua was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up three sacks himself.
Loss or not, Apple Valley got some senior leadership from Xavier Salazar who rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns and Zyron Belcher who rushed for 100 yards on only 12 carries.
Western's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Century and 1-9 Magnolia (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 29.8% over those games). As for Apple Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-5.
Western does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Apple Valley also has no future games currently scheduled.
