Preview: Evansville Reitz Panthers vs. Bedford North Lawrence Stars
Evansville Reitz has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against The Bedford North Lawrence Stars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Evansville Reitz put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They didn't even let Boonville onto the board and left with a 24-0 victory. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as Evansville Reitz just coasted through the last quarter.
Evansville Reitz's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Roland Vera Jr., who rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns.
Evansville Reitz's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB seven times. Leading the way was Levi Oxley and his five sacks.
Meanwhile, Bedford North Lawrence had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 28.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They put the hurt on Evansville Harrison with a sharp 27-6 win. The score was close at the half, but Bedford North Lawrence pulled away in the second half with 20 points.
Memphis Louden and Cal Gates were among the main playmakers for Bedford North Lawrence as the former rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns and the latter gained 120 total yards and two touchdowns.
Evansville Reitz's win was their tenth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 10-0. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 27.2 points. As for Bedford North Lawrence, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's contest: Evansville Reitz has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 195.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Bedford North Lawrence struggles in that department as they've been even better at 199.2 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
