Football Preview: North Pole Patriots vs. West Valley Wolf Pack
The North Pole Patriots will take on the West Valley Wolf Pack at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. North Pole is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games.
North Pole is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Palmer, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (North Pole was ranked sixth). North Pole walked away with a 26-13 win over Palmer on Friday.
North Pole can attribute much of their success to Patrick Melvin, who rushed for 222 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.2 yards per carry, and Devin Cooper-Jackson, who rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Melvin is now averaging an impressive 120.2 rushing yards per game.
North Pole was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 370 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
North Pole's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of A.J. Melvin and Quinn Kraus.
Meanwhile, West Valley entered their contest against Chugiak on Saturday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. West Valley took a hard 33-18 fall against Chugiak. It was the first time this season that the Wolf Pack let down their fans at home.
North Pole pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for West Valley, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-2.
North Pole took their win against West Valley in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 46-24. Will North Pole repeat their success, or does West Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
