Football Preview: Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack vs. Neligh-Oakdale Warriors
The Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack will head out to challenge the Neligh-Oakdale Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Elgin/Pope John is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 40.3 points per game this season.
Elgin/Pope John is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against St. Mary's on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Elgin/Pope John was dealt a 68-28 defeat at the hands of St. Mary's. The Wolfpack have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Grady Drueke, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Neligh-Oakdale came up short against Creighton on Friday, falling 72-46. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 31st).
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Corbin Hoefer and Taylor Nilson. Nilson had a great game and threw for 315 yards and six touchdowns while completing 71.9% of his passes. Meanwhile, Hoefer was balling out in the loss, picking up 60 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Neligh-Oakdale didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cooper Arehart and Tyson Blakeman.
Elgin/Pope John's loss dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Neligh-Oakdale, their defeat was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 2-4.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Elgin/Pope John has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 228.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Neligh-Oakdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 192.5. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Elgin/Pope John was dealt a bruising 48-8 loss at the hands of Neligh-Oakdale in their previous meeting back in October of 2017. Can Elgin/Pope John avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
