The Jal Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Eunice Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Jal has given up an average of 32 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Jal came up short against Loving on Friday, falling 52-27. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Jal might have lost, but man, Zadyn Lujan was a machine: he rushed for 156 yards and three scores.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Eunice duked it out with Tularosa on Friday. The Cardinals breezed past the Wildcats to the tune of 53-8. Considering the Cardinals have won five games by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Jal better keep an eye on Elijah Melancon. He was instrumental in Eunice's win, throwing for 273 yards and three TDs while picking up 11.9 yards per attempt.
Eunice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 216 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.
Eunice didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Dyson Lord and Jesse Ornelas. Ornelas is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season. Eunice got some further help from Greyson Meek: he picked up three sacks and made 12 total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Jal's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Eunice, their record now sits at 6-2.
Jal was dealt a bruising 41-0 defeat at the hands of Eunice when the teams last played back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Melancon, who threw for 307 yards and six touchdowns while completing 75.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 42 yards. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
