Football Preview: Walton Braves vs. Pensacola Catholic Crusaders
Walton has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. After each having a week off, they and the Pensacola Catholic Crusaders will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Two weeks ago, everything came up roses for Walton against Blountstown as the squad secured a 48-7 win. The Braves might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by 22 points or more this season.
Dylan Louthain was a one-man wrecking crew for Walton as he rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry. Louthain is becoming a predictor of Walton's success: when he posts at least 80 rushing yards the team is 5-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Brayden Sampson did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 160 receiving yards.
Walton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 264 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Meanwhile, Pensacola Catholic came tearing into two weeks ago's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30.4 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 31-24.
Pensacola Catholic relied on the efforts of Cj Nettles, who rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.3 yards per carry, and Tristan Keigley, who picked up 15 receiving yards and a touchdown. Nettles' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 148 rushing yards.
Pensacola Catholic's defense stepped up as well, laying out Gavin Ford. seven times. It was truly a group effort as Terius Mason, Jeremiah Shelby, and Trenton Henderson picked up two apiece. Mason also set a new season high mark in total tackles with ten. Kaleb Johnson was another major factor on D, making nine total tackles and snagged an interception which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Walton pushed their record up to 6-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.4 points per game. As for Pensacola Catholic, their record is now 8-1.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Walton has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 284.8 passing yards per game. Pensacola Catholic, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 189.4 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Walton was dealt a bruising 52-16 loss at the hands of Pensacola Catholic when the teams last played back in October. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Nettles, who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. Now that Walton knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
