Football Preview: Sale Creek Panthers vs. Copper Basin Cougars
Sale Creek is on a four-game streak of home losses, Copper Basin a four-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when Panthers dukes it out withthe Copper Basin Cougars at 7:30 p.m.
Sale Creek is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering South Pittsburg just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a blow against the Pirates, falling 41-13.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Copper Basin). They breezed by Lookout Valley to the tune of 46-0 last Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their eight-point performance the matchup before.
Copper Basin's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cade Dean, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, and also threw for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Hayden Deal was another key rusher, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Copper Basin was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 272 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 51 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matches they've averaged 243.7.
Sale Creek's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Copper Basin, their win bumped their record up to 2-7.
Everything came up roses for Sale Creek against Copper Basin in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 55-12 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Dean, who threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes, and also rushed for 80 yards on only 11 carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Sale Creek still be able to contain Dean? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
