Football Preview: Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors vs. Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats
Almira-Coulee-Hartline is on a nine-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Wilbur-Creston-Keller is on a six-game streak of away wins (also dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors will welcome the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Wellpinit, who was ranked 15th in their home state at the time (Almira-Coulee-Hartline was ranked third). Almira-Coulee-Hartline blew past Wellpinit, posting a 48-14 victory on the road. The Warriors' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Carter Pitts continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 166 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making five total tackles (2.0 for loss). Brady Roberts was another key rusher, rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Almira-Coulee-Hartline was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 329 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 257 rushing yards in seven consecutive matches.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB eight times. The heavy lifting was done by Noah Butler and Caden Correia, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Wilbur-Creston-Keller faced off against Odessa on Friday. Everything went Wilbur-Creston-Keller's way against Odessa as Wilbur-Creston-Keller made off with a 78-54 win. With the Wildcats ahead 62-34 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller had a senior duo take command as Kallen Maioho rushed for 261 yards and five touchdowns on only 14 carries and Preston Michel rushed for 286 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave Maioho a new career-high in rushing yards.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Maioho. He also set a new season high mark in rushing yards with 261.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Wilbur-Creston-Keller, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Almira-Coulee-Hartline has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 297.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wilbur-Creston-Keller struggles in that department as they've been averaging 407. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline might still be hurting after the 50-30 loss they got from Wilbur-Creston-Keller in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. Thankfully for Almira-Coulee-Hartline, Kalub Dreger (who rushed for 281 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.4 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
