The Lakeside Vikings are taking a road trip to face off against the Woodward Academy War Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Lakeside has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Woodward Academy will arrive with six straight wins.
Lakeside is likely headed into the matchup with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Shiloh on Friday. The Vikings received a blow as they fell 39-20 to the Generals. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 320th, while the Generals are ranked 156th).
Ayden Grubel put forth a good effort for the losing side as he threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, while Woodward Academy put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Decatur. The War Eagles took their contest with ease, bagging a 35-0 victory over the Bulldogs. The War Eagles' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Lakeside better keep an eye on Ryan Harrigan. He was instrumental in Woodward Academy's win, rushing for 52 yards and one TD, while also throwing for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Harrigan showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 63 yards.
Woodward Academy didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Decatur to a completion percentage of just 28.6%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from four players: Chandler Bell, Elijah Elibert, Bryce Woods, and Jack Wilson, who each logged one passes deflected. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Woodward Academy; they were averaging 63.4%completion percentage earlier this season, but in their last three games they've fallen to only 63.4%.
Woodward Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Wilson and Blake Stewart. Wilson is also on a roll when it comes to sacks, as he's now posted at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Stewart got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Woodward Academy's record now sits at 7-2. As for Lakeside, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Lakeside was taken down by Woodward Academy 50-0 in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. Thankfully for the Vikings, Landon Walker (who rushed for 57 yards and three scores, and also threw for 187 yards and one TD while completing 83.3% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
