Football Preview: Elkhorn South Storm vs. Papillion-LaVista South Titans
Elkhorn South is 3-0 against Papillion-LaVista South since September of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Elkhorn South Storm will welcome the Papillion-LaVista South Titans at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Elkhorn South will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up three points last Friday, then bounced right back against Norfolk on Thursday. Elkhorn South blew past Norfolk, posting a 45-13 win on the road. Given the Storm's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Panthers are ranked 72nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Elkhorn South to victory, but perhaps none more so than Gavin Shanahan, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Madden Riggs, who threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Elkhorn South didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Zen Fallquist, Cadyn Clark, and Keenan Schroeder picked up one apiece. Cooper Perrien was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making nine total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Elkhorn South was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 272 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Norfolk only rushed for -4.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Papillion-LaVista South at home against Burke on Friday as the team secured a 47-8 victory. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 40-0.
Papillion-LaVista South can attribute much of their success to Derek Jones, who rushed for 180 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.0 yards per carry, and Chase Cunningham, who threw for 118 yards and four touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Cunningham a new career-high in rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Casey Popish, who picked up 56 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Elkhorn South's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Papillion-LaVista South, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 4-4 record this season.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Elkhorn South has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Papillion-LaVista South struggles in that department as they've been averaging 161.2. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Elkhorn South against Papillion-LaVista South when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 42-8 victory. In that contest, Elkhorn South amassed a halftime lead of 35-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
