McCool Junction is on a six-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Shelby-Rising City is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Mustangs will host the Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
McCool Junction is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Centennial: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Mustangs blew the Broncos out of the water with a 40-6 final score. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Mustangs' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Broncos are ranked 130th).
Carson McDonald
| 10/10/25 vs Centennial | 4 |
| 10/03/25 @ Heartland | 2 |
| 09/26/25 @ Mead | 4 |
Carson McDonald produced another solid performance rushing for 208 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaxon McDonald, who rushed for 86 yards on only 11 carries.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something McCool Junction proved: they limited Centennial to a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Jameson Weiss for the heroic effort on defense: he. McCool Junction didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.7.
McCool Junction's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. Wyatt Vaneaton was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two himself.
Meanwhile, Shelby-Rising City took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 56-18 win over Mead.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Logan Lindsley and Mason Reed. Lindsley had a great game and rushed for 144 yards and three TDs on only 11 carries. Meanwhile, Reed did his best for the losing side, rushing for 33 yards and one score, while also throwing for 137 yards and one touchdown.
Shelby-Rising City's victory bumped their record up to 7-0. As for McCool Junction, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. McCool Junction has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 240.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Shelby-Rising City struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 287 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
McCool Junction took a serious blow against Shelby-Rising City in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, falling 70-6. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Huskies' Carter Eickmeier, who rushed for 123 yards and three TDs on only eight carries. Now that the Mustangs know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
