Football Game Preview: Elkhart Elks vs. New Diana Eagles

The Elkhart Elks will face off against the New Diana Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. New Diana took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Elkhart, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with six losses in a row, Elkhart turned things around against Winona on Friday. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 45-21 win. The Elks' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Callyn Franklin

Receiving Yards

10/31/25 @ Winona	82
09/19/25 vs Corrigan-Camden	48
08/29/25 @ Lovelady	12
09/26/25 @ West Rusk	11
09/12/25 vs Kerens	11

Dalton Walker was his usual excellent self, rushing for 240 yards and four scores while picking up 9.6 yards per carry. Callyn Franklin did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 82 receiving yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Elkhart was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 330 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 42 points the game before, New Diana was a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They were dealt a 54-9 defeat at the hands of Arp. The contest marked the Eagles' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

New Diana now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Elkhart, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 2-7.

Elkhart was taken down by New Diana 76-24 in their previous matchup back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Eagles' Dejuan Johnson, who threw for 339 yards and six touchdowns while completing 82.4% of his passes, and also rushed for 107 yards and a pair of TDs on only eight carries. Now that the Elks know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.