Football Preview: East Nicolaus Spartans vs. Willows Honkers
The East Nicolaus Spartans will square off against the Willows Honkers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Willows is facing East Nicolaus at the wrong time: East Nicolaus suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 28-27 to the Eagles.
Despite the defeat, East Nicolaus had strong showings from Mason Taylor, who threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and Mikey Robbins, who picked up 64 receiving yards. An impressive showing, but Robbins really ramped things up playing D: he picked up a sack and made six total tackles.
Meanwhile, Willows was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their fifth straight loss dating back to last season. They were outmatched by Orland at home and fell 50-0. While losing is never fun, the Honkers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 992nd, while the Trojans are ranked 367th).
East Nicolaus' defeat dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Willows, their loss dropped their record down to 0-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. East Nicolaus has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Willows struggles in that department as they've been averaging 171. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for East Nicolaus against Willows in their previous matchup back in November of 2019, as the team secured a 48-8 win. In that game, East Nicolaus amassed a halftime lead of 41-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps