Football Game Preview: La Junta Tigers vs. Woodland Park Panthers + How To Watch

The La Junta Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Woodland Park Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Woodland Park will be up against a hot La Junta squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. The Tigers were the clear victors by a 44-21 margin over Florence on Friday. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 23 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Woodland Park, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Manitou Springs 49-13. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Mustangs recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Woodland Park found their leader in freshman Saie Soto, who rushed for 196 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry, and also picked up 35 receiving yards. Those 196 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Soto. Demetrius Cecil Gochis made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.

Woodland Park was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 249 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.

Woodland Park didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cecil Gochis and Nathan Summeril. Cecil Gochis got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Woodland Park's victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 3-5. As for La Junta, their record is now 6-2.

La Junta was taken down by Woodland Park 34-6 in their previous matchup back in November of 2024. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.