Football Preview: Elko Indians vs. Truckee Wolverines
Elko is on a nine-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Truckee is on a eight-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Elko Indians will welcome the Truckee Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Elko is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their match at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 62-21 victory over Sparks. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada football rankings (they are ranked 14th, while the Railroaders are ranked 62nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Ethan Kraintz, who threw for 172 yards and four touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Coy Jones was Kraintz's top target, picking up 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Elko didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Carter Kidwell.
Meanwhile, Truckee was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Lowry 35-7 at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 21-0.
Jace Estabrook was his usual excellent self, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Those 132 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Dylan Flynn, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Truckee wouldn't let Lowry keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Colby Jitloff was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance. Truckee got some further help from Luke Lauter: he picked up a sack and made nine total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Truckee was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 320 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Elko's win bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Truckee, their victory bumped their record up to 7-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Elko has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 243.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Truckee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 270.4. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Elko lost to Truckee at home by a decisive 21-7 margin in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Truckee's Joseph Birnbaum, who picked up 135 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown. Now that Elko 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
