Football Preview: DeSales Irish vs. Liberty Christian Patriots
Two dominant signal callers in Cohen Wood and Perry Pottle are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The DeSales Irish are taking a road trip to square off against the Liberty Christian Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are still undefeated (DeSales has nine wins dating back to last season, while Liberty Christian has seven).
DeSales is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Mabton: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that DeSales blew Mabton out of the water with a 76-24 final score. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Irish had established a 46 point advantage.
DeSales' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Wood, who threw for 222 yards and six touchdowns on only 12 passes, and also rushed for 56 yards. With that strong performance, Wood is now averaging an impressive 3.1 passing touchdowns per game. Diego Caso was another key back, gaining 152 total yards and four touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, DeSales was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 241 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 241 rushing yards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Liberty Christian put their dominant defense on display in the team's fourth consecutive shutout on Friday. They never let Yakama Nation Tribal onto the board and left with a 54-0 victory. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by 28 points or more this season.
Among those leading the charge was Cole Fricke, who picked up 75 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making a tackle. Joey Isley also helped with two touchdowns in total.
DeSales' win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Liberty Christian, their record is now an identical 7-0.
Thursday's game might be decided in the on the ground. DeSales has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 264 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Liberty Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 211. It's looking like Thursday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
DeSales came up short against Liberty Christian in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 20-14. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Liberty Christian's Charlie Branning, who rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Now that DeSales 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
