Football Preview: North Paulding Wolfpack vs. Wheeler Wildcats
Two dominant backs in James Skelly and Josiah Allen are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The North Paulding Wolfpack will host the Wheeler Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. North Paulding is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.7 points per game this season.
Last Friday, North Paulding didn't have too much trouble with Etowah on the road as they won 34-17.
Skelly continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. North Paulding is 3-1 when Skelly posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise. Tyler Niehr was another key player, rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was North Paulding's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Rowan Sheffield was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself. He also set a new season high mark in total tackles with ten.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, North Paulding was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 342 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 166 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Wheeler didn't have quite enough to beat Etowah on Friday and fell 16-13. The Wildcats haven't had much luck with the Eagles recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Wheeler had strong showings from Greg Kendrick, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, and Allen, who rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown. Kendrick's longest rush was for an incredible 80 yards.
Wheeler didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Elijah Muhammad and Da'Kari Moore. Muhammad is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made eight or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Etowah's side was Kobe L Mcinnis, who picked up a sack and made 13 total tackles.
North Paulding now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Wheeler, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. North Paulding has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 222 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wheeler struggles in that department as they've been averaging 233.8. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
