Football Preview: Coolidge Bears vs. Florence Gophers
The Coolidge Bears will square off against the Florence Gophers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Coolidge, yet to win a game, are hoping to taste some of the success that has characterized Florence's (thus far) undefeated season.
Coolidge's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Combs last Friday. They were outmatched by the Coyotes at home and fell 57-0. That makes it the first time this season the Bears have let down their home crowd.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Florence). They breezed by Rio Rico at home to the tune of 43-0 on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Gophers, who have now won three contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
Logan Stenson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, while also throwing for 138 yards and a touchdown on only 13 passes. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 68 yards. Another player making a difference was Malik Smith, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 347 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Florence's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged six passes before it was all said and done. Kj Watts led the group effort, picking up three of those interceptions all by himself.
Coolidge's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Florence, they pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season.
Coolidge ended up a good deal behind Florence in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, losing 30-12. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Coolidge 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
