The Concord Minutemen will venture away from home to square off against the Fort Wayne North Side Legends at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Concord knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Fort Wayne North Side likes a good challenge.
Concord is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took down Warsaw 45-28. 45 seems to be a good number for the Minutemen as the team scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Concord's success was spearheaded by the efforts of BO BRUNNER, who rushed for 77 yards and three scores on only eight carries, and CHAR'RESE BREVEARD, who rushed for 134 yards and one touchdown on only ten carries. BREVEARD really tore up the turf during one magnificent 91-yard run. CAMARI JACKSON was in the mix as well, providing Concord with one TD.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Concord was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 218 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 161 rushing yards in 16 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Fort Wayne North Side got themselves on the board against Goshen on Friday, but Goshen never followed suit. They really took it to the RedHawks for the full four quarters, racking up a 41-0 victory. Given the Legends' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 105th, while the RedHawks are ranked 212th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Concord better keep an eye on Caleb Kiengele. He was instrumental in Fort Wayne North Side's win, rushing for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 12 carries.
One reason for the win was Fort Wayne North Side's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. Jamarcus Martin led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. Omarion Waites has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last eight times he's played. Fort Wayne North Side received some extra help from Martin, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Concord pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.0 points over those games. As for Fort Wayne North Side, their record now sits at 6-4.
We should be in store for an exciting game as Concord and Fort Wayne North Side have no problem gaining yardage. The Minutemen have been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 404.4 total yards per game. However, it's not like Fort Wayne North Side struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 374.1 total yards. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Concord strolled past Fort Wayne North Side in their previous matchup back in November of 2024 by a score of 38-21. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Kiengele, who rushed for 156 yards on only 15 carries, and also picked up 35 receiving yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Minutemen still be able to contain Kiengele? There's only one way to find out.
