The Ponderosa Mustangs will take on the Grand Junction Tigers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Ponderosa sitting on four straight wins and Grand Junction on six.
Two weeks ago, Ponderosa beat Heritage 45-34.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in De'Alcapon Veazy and Jett Balika. Veazy had a great game and rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Balika was balling out in the loss, rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while also picking up 59 receiving yards.
Ponderosa was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 285 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Grand Junction had no problem doing just that on Sunday. They breezed by the Trojans to the tune of 59-29. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by 20 points or more this season.
Will Applegate was his usual excellent self, throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes, and also rushing for 71 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making four total tackles and defending a pass. Mason Anderson was another key player, picking up 133 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Grand Junction didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kolton Music and Izaak Martinez. Music has been hot recently, having also posted five or more total tackles the last four times he's played.
Grand Junction's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27.1 points. As for Ponderosa, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Ponderosa has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 205.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Grand Junction struggles in that department as they've been averaging 250.5. It's looking like Saturday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Ponderosa against Grand Junction when the teams last played back in October of 2020, as the team secured a 45-14 win. Does Ponderosa have another victory up their sleeve, or will Grand Junction turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
