The Pierce Bluejays will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Roncalli Catholic Crimson Pride at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Pierce humbled West Point-Beemer with a 53-19 victory. With Pierce ahead 27-6 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Keenan Valverde had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 176 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Valverde hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Ben Bolling, who rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Meanwhile, Roncalli Catholic never let their opponents score on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Concordia 64-0 at home. Given Roncalli Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 28th, while Concordia is ranked 126th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Roncalli Catholic to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brady Mcgill, who threw for 102 yards and five touchdowns while completing 100% of his passes. Chris Haman-macias was another key contributor, rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
Pierce's win was their fourth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 7-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 49.0 points per game. As for Roncalli Catholic, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season.
Keep an eye on the end zone in Friday's game as Pierce and Roncalli Catholic haven't had much trouble getting there this season. Pierce commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 5.6 touchdowns per game. However, it's not like Roncalli Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5 per game. With these two high-octane teams facing off on Friday, fans should be in for an exciting offensive matchup.
Pierce was able to grind out a solid victory over Roncalli Catholic in their previous meeting back in September, winning 37-28. Does Pierce have another victory up their sleeve, or will Roncalli Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
