Football Preview: Gering Bulldogs vs. Chadron Cardinals
Gering is 1-9 against Chadron since September of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Gering Bulldogs will look to defend their home field against the Chadron Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Gering took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They strolled past Lexington with points to spare, taking the game 39-21.
Gering's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rece Knight, who threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns while completing 74.1% of his passes, and also rushed for 47 yards. Another rusher making a difference was Creighton Beals, who rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries.
Meanwhile, Chadron put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 54-12 victory over Alliance on the road. Considering the Cardinals have won six contests by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Quinn Bailey continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 222 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 13.9 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his 14th straight game with at least 140 rushing yards dating back to last season. Lane Davidson was another key player, rushing for 105 yards on only nine carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Chadron was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 387 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August of 2023.
Gering's win bumped their record up to 5-2. As for Chadron, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Gering has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 186.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Chadron struggles in that department as they've been averaging 330.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Gering came up short against Chadron in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 22-16. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bailey, who rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Now that Gering 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
