Preview: Wicksburg Panthers vs. Ariton Purple Cats
The Wicksburg Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Ariton Purple Cats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wicksburg will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Last Friday, Wicksburg got themselves on the board against Samson, but Samson never followed suit. They really took it to the Tigers for the full four quarters, racking up a 55-0 victory at home. Wicksburg pushed the score to 49-0 by the end of the third, a deficit Samson had no chance of recovering from.
Wicksburg found their leader in underclassman Mason Burkhardt, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries, and also threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes.
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last match, Ariton made sure to put some points up on the board against Abbeville on Friday. Ariton blew past Abbeville 54-20 on the road. The result was nothing new for Ariton, who have now won three contests by 29 points or more so far this season.
Ariton's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ian Senn led the charge by throwing for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Myles Tyler also deserves a mention for his punt return touchdown.
Their wins bumped Wicksburg to 4-3 and Ariton to 4-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Wicksburg has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 196 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ariton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 177.4 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Wicksburg ended up a good deal behind Ariton in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, losing 49-35. Can Wicksburg avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
