Patrick Henry Patriots 36, Hoover Cardinals 17

The Hoover Cardinals (2-4) making the short trip to face the Patrick Henry Patriots (2-5). Both Hoover and Patrick Henry came into this game with losing streaks.

It would be the Patriots who would start and end fast. They would get on the board first with a John Demos touchdown pass to homecoming king Dezmon Patmon. Later in the first Patriot running back Zariyan Cook would take the short handoff and find his way into the endzone to make the score 14-7 Patrick Henry. In the second quarter Patriot quarterback John Demos would leave the game with a left shoulder injury after being sacked. In comes back up quarterback Bryan Pace, he would put his team up two scores after a nine yard touchdown pass to Kreig Corkill. In the fourth quarter Pace would get his second touchdown pass, he would find an open Dominick Silvels who would catch and run for the thirty-four yard touchdown.

The Patriots end their four game skid and move to 3-5 on the season. They go on to play the Morse Tigers next Friday night. The Hoover Cardinals have now lost 5 games in a row. They face an uphill challenge with three games remaining in the season. The Cardinals go on to face the winless Serra Conquistadors next Friday. 

PREVIEW: We are officially at the half way mark in the Prep Pigskin Report season and as we approach Week 8, it is crunch time. For some schools league play has officially begun and for other schools, this week will be the first game of league action. One of those schools starting league play this week is the Hoover Cardinals (2-4). The Cardinals will travel to Patrick Henry to face the Patrick Henry Patriots (2-5) this Friday night at 6:30 PM.

Last year the Hoover Cardinals were ranked number one in their division. They lived up to their ranking by making it all the way to the 2014 CIF Division III Championship game. Unfortunately, they lost the game by a score of 31-9 against the number two ranked Christian Patriots.

This season got off to a great start for Hoover after they won back-to-back games in the first two weeks of the season to give them a 2-0 record. However, since then the Cardinals have not been flying too high. Hoover is on a four-game losing streak with their latest loss coming last week against Point Loma. In last week’s game senior Daevon Bazzo completed 5 of his 8 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Junior running back Demontauz Gray also had a big performance for the Cardinals. He rushed for 129 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns. Will the Cardinals be able to defeat the Patrick Henry Patriots and snap the losing streak?

The Patrick Henry Patriots and the Hoover Cardinals have met six previous times and each school has won three games against the other, making them even at 3-3. Their last meeting came last year on October 24th and it was the Hoover Cardinals who came out on top by a score of 41-0. However, the last time the Hoover Cardinals beat the Patriots at Patrick Henry High School was in 2010.  

Like the Hoover Cardinals, the Patrick Henry Patriots are also on a four-game losing streak. Last week the Patriots were featured in the Week 7 Jack in the Box Game of the Week as they took on the Christian Patriots. Going in to the 3rd quarter Patrick Henry had a 20-7 lead over the 2014 CIF Division III Champions. A lead that they let slip away after Patrick Henry allowed Christian to score 20 points in the 3rd quarter and another 7 in the 4th quarter to seal the victory.

In last week’s game there were two receiving touchdowns that were over 70 yards. These big plays not only allowed the momentum to shift in Christian’s favor but they also allowed the Patriots to get back into the game. If Patrick Henry wants to stay in this week’s game against Hoover they will need to contain the long ball and have big performances by their running back Dominick Silvels and wide receiver Dezmon Patmon, both of who are on the 2015 Silver Pigskin watch list.

Both the Hoover Cardinals (2-4) and the Patrick Henry Patriots (2-5) are trying to put an end to a four-game losing streak but only one team will emerge victorious. Will it be the Hoover Cardinals, the 2014 CIF Division III runner-ups? Or will the Patrick Henry Patriots use their home field advantage and the fact that Hoover has not won at their house since 2010 to their advantage? Find out this Friday at 6:30 PM as the Hoover Cardinals travel to Patrick Henry High School. After the game is over, be sure to tune in to KUSI’s Prep Pigskin Report, San Diego County’s home for prep football highlights and features!