Preview: Wilby Wildcats vs. Waterbury Career Academy Spartans
Wilby has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Waterbury Career Academy Spartans at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Wilby comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 12 points in their last three games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse.
Wilby fell victim to Torrington's stalwart defense on Friday and couldn't make it onto the board. They were dealt a 54-0 loss at the hands of the Raiders.
Meanwhile, Waterbury Career Academy waltzed into Friday's game with two straight wins but they left with three. They snuck past Crosby with a 41-36 victory. This was one game where the offenses had no trouble playing at a high level.
D'vonte Lane went supernova for Waterbury Career Academy, rushing for 259 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Lane hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games. Jordan Rossi also helped out with an impressive 115 receiving yards.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Crosby to a paltry 155 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Waterbury Career Academy's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid the passer out six times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by David Rivera jr. and Newman Reeves iv who racked up four sacks between them.
Wilby has yet to win a match at home this season, leaving them with a 0-9 record. Sadly, the team can't blame their woes on tough opposition, as that stretch included 1-8 St. Paul Catholic and 1-8 Wolcott (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 36.8% over those games). As for Waterbury Career Academy, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Things could have been worse for Wilby, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 31-14 loss to Waterbury Career Academy in their previous meeting back in November of 2022. Can Wilby avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
