Football Preview: Towanda Black Knights vs. Athens Wildcats
Towanda and Athens are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Towanda Black Knights will head out to take on the Athens Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Towanda is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Everything went their way against Canton on Thursday as Towanda made off with a 40-14 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Black Knights have posted against the Warriors since September 30, 2016.
Towanda's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Riley Vanderpool and Tahshon Garner. Vanderpool also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 228. Another thorn in Canton's side was Sawyer Robinson, who picked up three sacks and made 15 total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Towanda was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 287 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 154 rushing yards in ten consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Athens hadn't done well against Wellsboro recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Athens walked away with a 21-13 victory over Wellsboro.
Athens found their leader in underclassman Connor Davidson, who rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.5 yards per carry, and also threw for 111 yards and a touchdown while completing 75% of his passes.
Athens wouldn't let Wellsboro keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Athens can thank Ethan Elliott and Karson Sipley for forcing both of them.
Towanda's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-2. As for Athens, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Saturday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Towanda has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 221.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Athens struggles in that department as they've been averaging 167.7. It's looking like Saturday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Towanda took their win against Athens in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 27-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Towanda since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
