Two dominant signal callers in Thomas Donovan and Kartell Purvis are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Grossmont Foothillers will challenge the Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Grossmont is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 40.2 points per game this season.
Grossmont is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Helix on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Grossmont took a blow against Helix, falling 56-26. While losing is never fun, the Foothillers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 466th, while the Highlanders are ranked 192nd).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Noah Walker, who picked up 122 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more receiving touchdowns the last four times he's played. Another pass catcher making a difference was Amari Riley, who picked up 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei Catholic came tearing into Friday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Mustangs 45-6 at home. 45 seems to be a good number for the Crusaders as the team scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Mater Dei Catholic to victory, but perhaps none more so than Purvis, who threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Reagan Nicanor, who threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 passes.
Another reason for the win was Mater Dei Catholic's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Diego Mendoza with two.
Grossmont's loss dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Mater Dei Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
Keep an eye on the quarterbacks in this one, as the two teams don't mess around when it comes to the passing game. Grossmont has been unstoppable in the air this season, having averaged 369.9 passing yards per game. However, it's not like Mater Dei Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 278.4. It's looking like Friday's match might be a classic QB duel.
Everything came up roses for Grossmont against Mater Dei Catholic when the teams last played back in August of 2019, as the squad secured a 59-26 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Mater Dei Catholic's Aiden Calvert, who rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and also picked up 41 receiving yards. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Grossmont to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
