Football Preview: South Kingstown Rebels vs. West Warwick Wizards
The South Kingstown Rebels are taking a road trip to square off against the West Warwick Wizards at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated (South Kingstown has three wins , while West Warwick has four dating back to last season).
South Kingstown is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Woonsocket, who was ranked 21st in their home state at the time (South Kingstown was ranked fifth). Everything went South Kingstown's way against Woonsocket on Saturday as South Kingstown made off with a 37-12 victory.
Dante Peno had a dynamite game for South Kingstown, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. That's the most rushing yards Peno has posted since back in September of 2023.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, South Kingstown was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 366 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Woonsocket only rushed for 59.
South Kingstown'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 YZell Kirby and Jordan Chaloux.
Meanwhile, while West Warwick put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Tolman. West Warwick blew past Tolman 48-0 on the road. The Wizards pushed the score to 41-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers had no chance of recovering from.
James Branch was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.3 yards per carry. That high mark didn't come from nowhere: he posted at least 129 rushing yards in the third games prior. Karl Swanson did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 111 receiving yards.
West Warwick wouldn't let Tolman keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Isaac Casarez was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
South Kingstown's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for West Warwick, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. South Kingstown has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 232.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Warwick struggles in that department as they've been averaging 241. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
South Kingstown barely slipped by West Warwick in their previous matchup back in September of 2017, winning 13-12. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Kingstown 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
