Clovis hasn't had much luck against Central recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Clovis Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the Central Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Central is facing Clovis at the wrong time: Clovis suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They took a 52-33 bruising from the Timberwolves. It was the first time this season that the Cougars let down their fans at home.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Deagan Rose and Tyus Miller. Miller had a great game and threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 passes. Meanwhile, Rose was balling out in the loss, throwing for 246 yards and a touchdown, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground.
Even though they lost, Clovis was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 228 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Central didn't have too much trouble with Clovis West at home on Friday as they won 45-27.
Central found their leader in underclassman Jelani Dippel, who threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns.
Central didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Brandon Smith and Gerald Perry Jr. Smith also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 212. Another thorn in Clovis West's side was Marcus Nolen, who picked up 2.5 sacks and made six total tackles.
Clovis' defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-2. As for Central, their win bumped their record up to an identical 6-2.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Clovis has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 270.8 passing yards per game. Central, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 170.8 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Clovis barely slipped by Central when the teams last played back in September of 2023, winning 38-37. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Central's David Marquez, who rushed for 12 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Clovis to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
