After a dominant first-round win, the Redwood Rangers prepare for a quarterfinals matchup with the Arroyo Grande Eagles.

By: Jacob Serrato and Luis Flores

Playoff football is still on here in Visalia. This Friday November 13th at 7:00pm, the Arroyo Grande Eagles take on the Redwood Rangers at the Mineral King Bowl with a ticket to the semifinals up for grabs. 

Two teams coming off of very similar outcomes in the round of 16. Redwood with a 58-7 blowout win against Bullard and Arroyo Grande with a 42-12 blowout win against Edison. 

The Arroyo Grande Eagles are coming off a rollercoaster of a campaign. They started off the season 1-2, then they went on a five-game winning streak, but just before the start of the playoffs they dropped the last two games, costing them the Mountain West title, but these boys were able to finish with a 7-4 record, 2nd in the Mountain league, and earning the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.

The Eagles offense is really one-sided, to say the least. Asher Boness has been the primary starter but has only put up 660 passing yards, .545 completion percentage, passer rating of 93.8, 8 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. The same said for the receiving core Colton Mihlhauser leads the team in receiving yards with only 193 yards and 4 touchdowns. But besides all that, there lies a beast in the backfield.

Miles Thompson has put up dominant numbers with 1,249 rushing yards, 6.4 yards a carry, 124.9 yards a game, and 21 touchdowns. Against Edison, he put on a show with 19 carries for 167 yards and 5 touchdowns. By himself, Thompson scored five of the six touchdowns against Edison. The Eagles rely on this heavy run-first offense, so it would be no surprise to see Thompson get the ball multiple times this Friday night.

With all of this, the offense has been able to put up 25.7 points a game.

The defense has only given up 20 points a game, with a total of 18.0 sacks and 11 interceptions t. The secondary is going to have to play a big part this Friday against the Redwood Rangers.

The Redwood Rangers were at one point 6-0 and were number one in the EYL; then they dropped two straight games, costing them a chance at an EYL title, but still they prevailed, going 9-2 to finish off the season and claiming the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.

Nash McElree has 2,182 passing yards, .667 completion percentage, 113.7 passer rating, 20 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. But it’s also hard to forget the dual-threat ability of McElree, who has the second-most rushing yards with 296 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground.

Qur’an Goodman continues to be the main back with 872 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns, while the receiving core is still led by Jarius Brooks with 862 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. This has helped the offense put up 33.9 points a game.

The defense has put up 35.0 total sacks and 11 interceptions, only giving up 20.4 points a game. The front four will have the biggest challenge with stopping Arroyo Grande’s run-heavy offense.

Quarterfinals matchups: 

No. 9 Centennial vs. No. 1 Independence 

No. 12 San Joaquin Memorial vs. No. 4 Kingsburg 

No. 6 Arroyo Grande vs. No. 3 Redwood

No. 7 San Luis Obispo vs. No. 2 Tulare Western 

Whoever wins the game between Arroyo Grande vs. Redwood will play the winner between San Luis Obispo vs. Tulare Western. 

This Friday the narrative stays the same: move on or go home. Eight teams remain, and a ticket to the semifinals is on the line. It’s the Arroyo Grande Eagles and the Redwood Rangers; the road to a title continues.

Jacob Serrato
+ posts

Jacob Serrato is a senior and first year sports writer for the Redwood Gigantea, he is beyond thrilled to be apart of the Gigantea and to cover Redwood sports all year long.

Luis Flores
+ posts

Luis Flores is a sophomore that is apart of Redwood Gigantea, he loves to write about sports topics and can't wait to write plenty of stories and cover every sport of Redwood.

 

Tags: , , , , , ,