Football Preview: Garrett Railroaders vs. Eastside Blazers
Garrett hasn't had much luck against Eastside recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Garrett Railroaders will host the Eastside Blazers at 7:00 p.m. Garrett will be coming into the match with an undefeated record on the line.
If Garrett beats Eastside with 41 points on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. Garrett enjoyed a cozy 41-27 victory over Lakeland on Friday. The Railroaders pushed the score to 34-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Lakers cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Garrett to victory, but perhaps none more so than Camren Ruble, who rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Ruble is now averaging an impressive 100.2 rushing yards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Calder Hefty, who rushed for 120 yards while picking up 7.5 yards per carry.
Garrett's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Brayden Nusbaum, Hefty, and Alex Guzman picked up one apiece. The dominant performance gave Guzman a new career-high in rushing yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Garrett was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 423 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 209 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Eastside entered their game against Churubusco on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Eastside took a 24-12 hit to the loss column at the hands of Churubusco. The Blazers just can't catch a break and have now endured three defeats in a row.
Despite the loss, Eastside saw an underclassman step up: Noah Dove rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Dove's longest rush was for an impressive 63 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Garrett's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Eastside, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Garrett has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 365.2 total yards per game. It's a different story for Eastside, though, as they've been averaging only 176.2. Will Garrett be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will Eastside flip the script?
Garrett came up short against Eastside in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 15-8. Will Garrett have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
