The Wilber-Clatonia Wolverines will take on the Syracuse Rockets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Wilber-Clatonia sitting on three straight victories and Syracuse on nine (dating back to last season).
While Wilber-Clatonia's win against Falls City wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Wolverines slipped by the Tigers 21-20 on Friday.
Crew Pulliam
| 10/17/25 @ Falls City | 101 |
| 09/12/25 @ Milford | 60 |
| 09/05/25 vs Lincoln Christian | 86 |
| 08/29/25 @ Boys Town | 141 |
Wilber-Clatonia can attribute much of their success to Crew Pulliam, who rushed for 57 yards and one touchdown, and Zach Marsh, who gained 157 total yards and a touchdown. What's more, Pulliam racked up 101 passing yards, the most he's had since back in August.
Wilber-Clatonia didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Marsh and Graysen Vlcan. Marsh also rushed for 123 rushing yards, which is notable because Wilber-Clatonia is undefeated when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 0-4 otherwise.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Syracuse). They took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 54-27 victory over Auburn. Considering the Rockets have won four games by more than 26 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Syracuse's win came down to the chemistry between Will Janssen and his top target Mason Lintz. Janssen rushed for 239 yards and four scores while picking up 11.4 yards per carry while Lintz rushed for 152 yards and one TD on only 13 carries. Janssen is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 100 every time he's taken the field this season.
Syracuse was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 544 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Syracuse's victory bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Wilber-Clatonia, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Wilber-Clatonia has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Syracuse struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 369.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Wilber-Clatonia suffered a grim 45-20 defeat to Syracuse when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Wolverines, Cy Petersen (who rushed for 249 yards and one touchdown while picking up 12.5 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
