El Capitan had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 34-19 victory over the Merced Bears. That's more bragging rights for the Gauchos, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
El Capitan got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Ariel Ochoa out in front who threw for 280 yards and five touchdowns while completing 81% of her passes. Ochoa has been hot recently, having posted four or more passing touchdowns the last three times she's played. Shantelle Magana did her part for the team as well, scoring a TD off of 91 receiving yards.
Despite the loss, Merced saw an underclassman step up: Antonia Lejarde threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns. A healthy portion of that aerial production (83 yards to be exact) went to Makiiah Sims, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
El Capitan is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Merced, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-5.
El Capitan didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 46-0 victory against Golden Valley on the 8th. Merced has also already played their next game, a 33-6 win against Los Banos on the 8th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
