The Pioneer Patriots will challenge the River City Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Pioneer is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34.2 points per game this season.
Pioneer took a 25-point loss the last time they faced off against Sacramento, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Patriots sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 42-40 victory over the Dragons on Friday. The score was all tied up 14-14 at the break, but the Patriots were the better team in the second half.
Joe Mendez
| 09/26/25 vs Sacramento | 3 |
| 08/29/25 vs River Valley | 2 |
| 10/11/24 vs Wood | 2 |
| 09/05/25 @ Woodland | 1 |
Joe Mendez went supernova, rushing for 159 yards and three scores. Those three rushing touchdowns gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jordan Constancio, who threw for 152 yards and a pair of TDs on only 13 passes.
Pioneer didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Sacramento to a completion percentage of just 45.8%. The team can thank Max Pineda for the heroic effort on defense: he. Pioneer wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 61.5%.
Pioneer didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Devion Corley and Jayden Deliska. Deliska also made four total tackles, which is notable because Pioneer is undefeated when he posts at least three total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise. The Patriots got some further help from Pineda: he made 16 total tackles (1.5 for loss) and defended two passes.
Meanwhile, River City was able to grind out a solid win over Wood on Friday, taking the game 21-10. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Raiders.
River City now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Pioneer, their victory bumped their record up to 4-2.
Pioneer didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against River City in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 14-10 win. Do the Patriots have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
