Football Preview: Liberty Christian Patriots vs. Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors
The Liberty Christian Patriots and the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors are set to duel on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Liberty Christian comes in on 11 and Almira-Coulee-Hartline on four.
Liberty Christian is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat DeSales 56-20. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten contests by 28 points or more this season.
Charlie Branning was his usual excellent self, rushing for 253 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 14.9 yards per carry. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last four times he's played. Perry Pottle was another key player, throwing for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Liberty Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Dax Mercure, Addison Lyle, and Branning picked up one apiece.
Liberty Christian was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 314 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 161 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Almira-Coulee-Hartline faced Neah Bay in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Almira-Coulee-Hartline sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 14-12 win over Neah Bay. The 14-point effort marked the Warriors' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
It was another big night for Caden Correia, who rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 62 yards and a touchdown. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making five total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Almira-Coulee-Hartline's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Leading the way was Noah Butler with two sacks.
Almira-Coulee-Hartline is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32 points. As for Liberty Christian, they pushed their record up to 11-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home.
Saturday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Liberty Christian has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 230.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Almira-Coulee-Hartline struggles in that department as they've been averaging 279.7. It's looking like Saturday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Liberty Christian strolled past Almira-Coulee-Hartline in their previous matchup back in September by a score of 50-36. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Almira-Coulee-Hartline's Carter Pitts, who rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Liberty Christian still be able to contain Pitts? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
