The Elm Creek Buffaloes will face off against the Kenesaw Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Elm Creek is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Franklin, posting a 59-14 win. The victory continues a trend for the Buffaloes in their matchups with the Flyers: they've now won three in a row.
Elm Creek's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kole Steiner, who rushed for 104 yards and one score on only 12 carries, and also threw for 103 yards and three touchdowns. Keston Beavers was another key rusher, rushing for 84 yards and a pair of TDs.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Elm Creek proved: they limited Franklin to a paltry 0.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Alex Meier for the heroic effort on defense: he. Elm Creek didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.4.
Elm Creek's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. In that department, Blake Erickson was the leader with two.
Meanwhile, Kenesaw never let their opponents score on Friday. They really took it to Axtell for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-0 victory. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Blue Devils had established a 40-point advantage.
Elm Creek better keep an eye on Adam Denkert. He was instrumental in Kenesaw's win, rushing for 124 yards and one score, while also picking up 48 receiving yards and one touchdown. Another player making a difference was Cole Haahr, who rushed for 33 yards and one TD.
Elm Creek now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Kenesaw, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Elm Creek has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 206 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Kenesaw struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 183.4 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Elm Creek suffered a grim 50-25 defeat to Kenesaw in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Buffaloes were down 50-18.
