Crawford Colts 33, Maranatha Christian Eagles 12

The Crawford Colts (9-2) defeated the Maranatha Christian Eagles (7-4) on Friday night 
to advance to the Division V semi-finals next week.

It may have been a chilly night at San Diego High School, but the the Colts offense brought the heat. 

Crawford got it going in the first quarter with a seven yard touchdown run from Kwali Wilkerson. Colts led 7-0.

Maranatha was able to get on the board at the end of the first quarter with a touchdown. The extra point was no good, so the Colts
still led 7-6. 

Crawford’s run game did what it does best …score touchdowns.

This time, Eric McDuffy Jr. took it to the end zone for the 33-yard touchdown to extend Crawford’s lead 14-6.

Before the half, Raymond Gabriel got in on the action with a six yard touchdown run. A high snap led to a missed extra point, Colts 
lead 2-6.

Eagles’ James Rohde added an 81-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late. 

Wilkerson added two more rushing touchdowns on the night to help the Colts secure the victory.

With the win, Crawford will play Vincent Memorial next week. Vincent Memorial also had an impressive win, beating Army-Navy 31-3.

PREVIEW: Although many teams have a bye the first week of the playoffs, there is no shortage of great games.

One of the Division V match-ups features the Maranatha Christian Eagles (7-3) against the Crawford Colts (8-2).

Last week, the Colts won their second Manzanita League title in three years.  

Crawford was able to win the title with a lot of help from its run game.

Raymond Gabriel and Eric McDuffy Jr. both had rushing touchdowns, while Sharif Sharif started things off with a kickoff return to the end zone.

McDuffy Jr, the Colts leading rusher, has scored 10 rushing touchdowns this season and is averaging nearly 90 yards per game.

What’s most impressive about Crawford’s run to the title is the way their defense has stepped up in the last month.

Since October 2nd, the Colts have only allowed 12 points. They recorded four-straight shutouts against Southwest, Holtville, Calipatria and Mountain Empire.

Maranatha will need to be sharp to wear down Crawford’s defense.

Luckily, the Eagles are a little bit more balanced on offense.

Quarterback Christian Cortes has thrown for more than 1,400 yards this season and is averaging nearly 160 per game.

Coming into this game, Crawford is ranked #2 in the Division V bracket, while Maranatha is ranked #7.

The winner of this game will go on to play the winner of the Vincent-Memorial vs. Army-Navy game.  

Tune into the Prep Pigskin Report this Friday at 10:30 p.m. to find out which team advances and watch playoff highlights from around the county.