After each having a week off, the Fort Wayne North Side Legends and the Goshen RedHawks will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Things were looking good for Fort Wayne North Side after they put the first points on the board last Friday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell 24-20 to Fort Wayne Snider. The Legends haven't had much luck with the Panthers recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Fort Wayne North Side might have lost, but man, Caleb Kiengele was a machine: he rushed for 151 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, Goshen played a tough matchup last Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against NorthWood, falling 49-24. While losing is never fun, the RedHawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 214th, while the Panthers are ranked 84th).
Fort Wayne North Side will have to keep a close watch on Douglas Diaz and Spencer Elliott, a pair of players who had a big impact on Goshen's prior game. Diaz threw for 269 yards and a pair of TDs, while Elliott picked up 155 receiving yards and one score. Elliott showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 53 yards. A healthy portion of Diaz's aerial production (80 yards to be exact) also went to Colton Rapp, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Fort Wayne North Side suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 5-4. As for Goshen, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Fort Wayne North Side has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 374.1 total yards per game. It's a different story for Goshen, though, as they've been averaging only 242.8 total yards. Will Fort Wayne North Side be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will the RedHawks flip the script?
Fort Wayne North Side was taken down by Goshen 49-7 in their previous meeting back in October of 2016. Thankfully for the Legends, C.J. Detweiler (who threw for 311 yards and five touchdowns, and also punched in one TD on the ground) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
