Football Preview: Rawlins County Buffaloes vs. Hoxie Indians
Two dominant backs in Ryan Sramek and Braydon Scheetz are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Rawlins County Buffaloes will square off against the Hoxie Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hoxie is hoping to do what Decatur Community couldn't on Friday: put an end to Rawlins County's winning streak, which now stands at six games. Rawlins County really took it to Decatur Community for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-18 win at home. The score was close at the half, but the Buffaloes pulled away in the second half with 32 points.
Rawlins County's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sramek, who rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns, and also threw for three yards and a touchdown. Sramek is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last nine games he's played dating back to last season. Another rusher making a difference was Dorian Culwell, who rushed for 188 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.0 yards per carry.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Rawlins County was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 422 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 175 rushing yards in 18 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Rawlins County didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Asa Popp and Tru Dewey.
Meanwhile, Hoxie put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 46-0 win over St. Francis on the road. Given Hoxie's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked sixth, while St. Francis is ranked 55th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Scheetz, who rushed for 76 yards and six touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 2.2 rushing touchdowns per game.
Rawlins County's victory was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1. As for Hoxie, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Rawlins County has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 362.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hoxie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 147.9. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Rawlins County came up short against Hoxie when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 32-26. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hoxie's Duncan Bell, who rushed for 33 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Rawlins County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
