Game of the Week: Oak Hills hosts Aquinas in a big-time showdown of top running backs
Two of the best running backs in the county will be under the bright lights in the High Desert on Friday night.
Oak Hills High School opens the season at home Friday night against Aquinas, in a highly-anticipated showdown of top-tier running backs.
Both Karson Cox, of Oak Hills, and Aquinas’ Jusyis Solis are both entering the junior seasons and are poised for great seasons for their squads.
Cox is coming off a tremendous sophomore season in which he averaged 9.5 yards per carry. Cox led the running game for the Bulldogs, taking 128 carries for 1,215 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Bulldogs, earning a spot on the All-Mojave River League first-team, along with Daily Press All-Area and All-CIF-Southern Section Division II selections.
On the other side of the field is Solis, who is no stranger to the High Desert. While Solis attends Aquinas, in San Bernardino, he used to roam the sidelines at Adelanto High School several years ago.
His father, Jose Solis, was previously on the coaching staff at Adelanto, including the 2018 CIF-Southern Section Division XIII championship team.
But three seasons later, Solis captured a CIF-SS championship when Aquinas won the Division X title in 2021. Solis was the workhorse for Aquinas as a freshman, taking 259 carries for 2,088 yards and 35 touchdowns, and also caught 24 passes for 465 yards.
High Desert football: Find out everything you need to know for the 2023 season
Last year, he led Aquinas again with 896 yards and 19 touchdowns on 129 carries, and also caught 34 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns.
Both Cox and Solis are highly recruited running backs. Solis is committed to the University of California, Berkeley, while Cox has nearly a dozen offers in his back pocket entering his junior season, including the University of Oregon.
On paper, Oak Hills is favored entering the matchup with a 29.8 CalPreps.com rating, while Aquinas is at 11.7.
“Aquinas is a good team, and we know Jojo is one of the top running backs in the state,” Oak Hills head coach Robert Metzger said. “Last year we got to face some of the top running backs in the state, from Highland and St. Bonaventure, so this is another good test for us early on. This week will tell us where we are at after a strong offseason.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium. Here’s a brief look at the rest of the local action in Week 0.
Eastlake at Apple Valley, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Apple Valley 15.2, Eastlake -1.7
Game notes: Apple Valley beat Eastlake 42-7 on the road in the season opener last year. The Sun Devils ran for 295 yards and four touchdowns collectively, while quarterback Noah Celie threw for another 188 yards and two touchdowns. The defense held Eastlake to 87 yards of total offense, including -8 rushing.
Sultana at Lancaster, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Sultana 0, Lancaster -18.7
Game notes: The Sultans have won their last two season openers, something the program hasn’t done in over two decades. Sultana was a Division VII team last year, while Lancaster was a Division XII team.
Eisenhower at Serrano, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Serrano -5, Eisenhower -5.3
Game notes: The Diamondbacks have not lost a season kickoff game held at Snowline Stadium in a very long time. A search of an archive dating back to the 2001 season shows that Serrano has won every Week 0 opener, played at home since then.
Silverado at Servite, 7:30 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Silverado -9.7, Servite 20.9
Game notes: With the start of a new season comes another tough slate of games for the Hawks This year’s season opener is no different as Silverado is taking on an opponent from the Trinity League. The game will be held at Cerritos College, in Norwalk.
Castaic at Adelanto, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Adelanto -21.6, Castaic -33.1
Game notes: The Saints began the season last year with a 26-7 victory at Castaic. But Adelanto was forced to forfeit the victory, giving Castaic the victory. Adelanto has never won a season opener at home in program history, which began in 2013. The Saints are 0-3 in season-opening games held at home.
Barstow at Hesperia, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Barstow -13.7, Hesperia -5.7
Game notes: The teams have played each other in the last two seasons, splitting the meetings. Hesperia pulled off a 36-7 victory at Barstow last season while forcing four turnovers and holding the rushing attack to 86 yards on 17 carries.
Granite Hills at Palm Springs, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Granite Hills -22.2, Palm Springs -7.4
Game notes: The Cougars have won five straight season openers, and have scored at least 40 points in three of them. This will be the first start for quarterback Jordan Dalton, who is taking over for Byron Rivas.
Montclair at Victor Valley, 7 p.m.
CalPreps.com ratings: Victor Valley -37.5, Montclair -35.6
Game notes: The Jackrabbits have not lost a season opener since 2018, winning four in a row in that span.
Daily Press reporter Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-951-6274 or JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @J0seQuintero.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Oak Hills hosts Aquinas in a big-time showdown of top running backs
