Football Preview: East Palestine Bulldogs vs. Leetonia Bears
After two games on the road, East Palestine is heading back home. They will welcome the Leetonia Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. East Palestine is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 31.8 points per game this season.
East Palestine will bounce into Friday's matchup after beating Columbiana, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. East Palestine secured a 34-28 W over Columbiana on Friday.
Zach Schnelle had a dynamite game for East Palestine, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: East Palestine was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 285 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 172 rushing yards in eight consecutive games.
East Palestine didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of William Dixon and Peyton Rutledge. Rutledge is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Leetonia was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their 18th straight defeat dating back to last season. They took a 42-28 bruising from David Anderson. One positive for the Bears, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
East Palestine's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Leetonia, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.
East Palestine took their win against Leetonia in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 29-6. Does East Palestine have another victory up their sleeve, or will Leetonia turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
