Football Game Preview: Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers vs. Lyons-Decatur Northeast Cougars

The Bancroft-Rosalie Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Lyons-Decatur Northeast Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bancroft-Rosalie has three straight victories, Lyons-Decatur Northeast has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

It was a proper cat-fight when Bancroft-Rosalie took on Winside on Friday. The Panthers enjoyed a cozy 40-22 win over the Wildcats. The Panthers pushed the score to 40-12 by the end of the third, a deficit the Wildcats cut but never quite recovered from.

Bancroft-Rosalie's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Braylon Wegner led the charge by picking up 193 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Wegner showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 66 yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Browning, who threw for 224 yards and four TDs on only 17 passes.

Bancroft-Rosalie didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Winside to a completion percentage of just 20%. The Panthers weren't nearly as limited: they posted one of 64.7%.

Bancroft-Rosalie didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off five passes before the game was over. Eli Maxwell and Brody Davis were the leaders of the group effort as each produced two apiece. With that strong performance, Wegner is now averaging an impressive 107.7 receiving yards per game.

Meanwhile, Lyons-Decatur Northeast came up short against Randolph on Friday and fell 30-22.

Lyons-Decatur Northeast's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Bancroft-Rosalie, their victory bumped their record up to 5-1.

Bancroft-Rosalie was able to grind out a solid win over Lyons-Decatur Northeast in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, winning 54-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.