Football Preview: Curlew Cougars vs. Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors
Curlew is 0-3 against Almira-Coulee-Hartline since September of 2014 but things could change on Friday. The Curlew Cougars will host the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors at 3:00 p.m. Curlew will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Curlew is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Republic, who was ranked 24th in their home state at the time (Curlew was ranked ninth). Curlew blew past Republic, posting a 40-0 win on the road. Fans of the Cougars have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Curlew relied on the efforts of LOGAN RINGSTAD, who rushed for 102 yards on only eight carries, and LUKE DOYEN, who picked up 150 receiving yards. DOYEN torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 70 yards.
Meanwhile, Almira-Coulee-Hartline ended up a good deal behind Liberty Christian on Friday and lost 50-36. The loss was the Warriors' first of the season.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline might have lost, but man, Carter Pitts was a machine: he rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Pitts has posted since back in September of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Harvest Parrish, who rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Almira-Coulee-Hartline was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 348 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 276 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Curlew's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Almira-Coulee-Hartline, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Curlew has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 294.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Almira-Coulee-Hartline struggles in that department as they've been averaging 313.7. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Curlew took a serious blow against Almira-Coulee-Hartline in their previous matchup back in October of 2022, falling 46-7. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pitts, who rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 81 yards and a touchdown. Now that Curlew 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
