Football Preview: Leesville Wampus Cats vs. DeRidder Dragons
Leesville is 7-2 against DeRidder since October of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Leesville Wampus Cats will challenge the DeRidder Dragons at 7:00 p.m. Leesville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 42.7 points per game this season.
Leesville is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Iowa just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They were dealt a 62-28 loss at the hands of the Yellowjackets. The contest marked the Wampus Cats' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Leesville might have lost, but man, Xavier Ford was a machine: he rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 46 receiving yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Julius Brown, who picked up 96 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, the third road match was the charm for DeRidder, as they earned their first road win of the season. They were the clear victor by a 35-13 margin over Eunice on Friday.
Tanner Davis was a one-man wrecking crew for DeRidder as he threw for 156 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes, and also punched in a rushing score. Connor Rushford helped Davis out on the ground, rushing for 114 yards, while also picking up 37 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Leesville's defeat dropped their record down to 5-2. As for DeRidder, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Ford and Rushford. Ford has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 256.3 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Rushford has averaged 132.5 rushing yards per game this season.
Leesville didn't have too much breathing room in their game against DeRidder in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, but they still walked away with a 28-22 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was DeRidder's Reed Williams, who rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Leesville still be able to contain Williams? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
