Football Preview: Frederick Golden Eagles vs. Silver Creek Raptors
Two dominant signal callers in Gavin Ishmael and Nolan Gaccetta are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Frederick Golden Eagles will welcome the Silver Creek Raptors at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Silver Creek is hoping to do what Loveland couldn't on Friday: put an end to Frederick's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Frederick simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Loveland 41-7 on the road. The result was nothing new for the Golden Eagles, who have now won four matches by 34 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Ishmael, who rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in November of 2023. Sonny Delpizzo was another key player, gaining 110 total yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Silver Creek). They breezed by Greeley West at home to the tune of 42-8 on Thursday. With that win, the Raptors brought their scoring average up to 26.7 points per game.
Gaccetta was his usual excellent self, rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, while also throwing for 125 yards on 11 of 19 attempts. Conner Lopez was Gaccetta's top target, rushing for 35 yards and a touchdown, while also picking up 30 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Silver Creek was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 252 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Silver Creek's defense and their three sacks. Miguel Armend?riz was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself.
Frederick's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Silver Creek, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 4-2 record this season.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Frederick has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 275 passing yards per game. Silver Creek, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 182.5 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Thursday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Frederick against Silver Creek in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 48-7 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Silver Creek's Cole Rogers, who rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.6 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Frederick to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
