Football Preview: Liberty Creek Wolves vs. Maplewood Panthers
The Liberty Creek Wolves are on the road again on Friday to play the Maplewood Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Maplewood took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Liberty Creek, who comes in off a win.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Liberty Creek finally turned things around against Stratford last Monday. They came out on top against the Spartans by a score of 28-21.
Mack Tuggle continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 256 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.0 yards per carry. He showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 61 yards.
Liberty Creek wouldn't let Stratford keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Liberty Creek can thank Alex Freeman and Daniel Gillaspia for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Maplewood entered their match against Stratford on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Maplewood fell 27-20 to Stratford.
Despite the defeat, Maplewood saw an underclassman step up: Christian Beatie rushed for 26 yards and two touchdowns. Beatie is becoming a predictor of Maplewood's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Marianta Waters, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Liberty Creek's victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-5. As for Maplewood, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Liberty Creek has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 220 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Maplewood, though, as they've been averaging only 96.9. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Liberty Creek against Maplewood in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 49-20 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Maplewood's Ladavion Darden, who rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 137 yards and a touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Liberty Creek to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
