Football Game Preview: Columbia Coyotes vs. River View Panthers

The Columbia Coyotes will square off against the River View Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Columbia's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Newport on Friday. They lost 22-0 to the Grizzlies. While losing is never fun, the Coyotes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington football rankings (they are ranked 203rd, while the Grizzlies are ranked 88th).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for River View, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They walked away with a 22-14 victory over Granger on Thursday. The win continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Spartans: they've now won four in a row.

Columbia better keep an eye on Wyatt Curtis. He was instrumental in River View's win, rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching one TD. Curtis has become a key player for the Panthers: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 1-3 otherwise.

Columbia's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 3-4. As for River View, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 3-4.

Columbia took their win against River View when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 38-14 score. Will the Coyotes repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.