Football Preview: Maroa-Forsyth Trojans vs. New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly Vipers
Maroa-Forsyth is on a eight-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly is on a five-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Maroa-Forsyth Trojans will welcome the New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly Vipers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Maroa-Forsyth is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50 points per game this season.
Maroa-Forsyth is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Williamsville just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 28-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bullets. The contest marked the Trojans' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Maroa-Forsyth's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ryne Sheppard, who threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns, and Mitch Williams, who picked up 127 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly hadn't done well against Athens recently (they were 0-7 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 34-7 victory over Athens. Considering the Vipers have won four matchups by more than 26 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Clark Anthony Nelson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 216 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Gabe Lyons got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 389 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 173 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly wouldn't let Athens keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly can thank Anthony Nelson and Charlie Newman for forcing both of them.
Having lost for the first time this season, Maroa-Forsyth fell to 7-1. As for New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly, their win bumped their record up to an identical 7-1.
The upcoming game will be a clash of competing strengths. Maroa-Forsyth has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 301.2 passing yards per game. New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 342.7 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Everything came up roses for Maroa-Forsyth against New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 55-26 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Anthony Nelson, who rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Maroa-Forsyth still be able to contain Anthony Nelson? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
