Coming off of a historic win over Andover last week, the 3-1 Mustangs are facing off against league rival Valley Center Hornets (3-1) Friday night at Valley Center.

“Whenever you beat a team like Andover, you’re feeling pretty good,” Mustang Head Coach Mark Sandbo said.

Led by junior quarterback Gunnar Gross and senior running back Kenyon McMillan, the offense has scored 150 points through four weeks for an average of 37.5 points a game.

“Kenyon and Gunnar are expected to play well,” Sandbo said. “Our offensive line has been good through four weeks.”

A challenge facing the Mustangs is Valley Center running back Dai’mont Mucker, who is averaging 135 yards per game leading up to Friday.

“He is a fast physical running back that doesn’t go down on first contact,” Mustang Defensive Coordinator Austin Kingsbury said. “It will be vital that we are assignment sound in scheme and that we tackle well when we are presented the opportunity.”

The defense, specifically the line, will also have to step up their game come Friday, with the Mustangs only getting five tackles for a loss against Andover.

“Their offensive line is very physical and they block extremely hard,” Kingsbury said. “Our front seven will need to be the more physical group, and we have to get off blocks at the point of attack.”

In practice, their main priority is getting to the quarterback and completing tackles, something that has been a struggle for the Mustangs, Kingsbury said.

“Our main focus has been getting back to the basics in our pursuit to the football and our fundamentals in tackling,” he said. “We have a lot of guys showing great effort on Friday nights, but they aren’t getting to the ball and using their tackling skills well in the game.”

Despite the challenge that Valley Center presents, players are showing confidence against their Friday opponent.

“I think we have a good shot at beating them,” senior Linebacker Dawson Hogan said. “I know that we have better players head-to-head.”

“We’ll attack how we want to attack,” Sandbo said, “and we’ll be ready for Friday.”