Preview: Valley Rams vs. Elmore County Panthers
Valley is 0-1 against Elmore County since October of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Valley Rams will head out on the road to face off against the Elmore County Panthers at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Valley never got on the board in their last matchup, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Tallassee last Thursday. Valley blew past Tallassee, posting a 48-14 win at home. Given Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 77th, while Tallassee is ranked 227th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cam?ron Dooley and Tilyn Carrell were among the main playmakers for Valley as the former rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries and the latter rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Xander Newton did his part by putting the 'special' in special teams, booting in six field goals.
Meanwhile, Elmore County had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 27-7 margin over Beauregard.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Elmore County to victory, but perhaps none more so than Cade Everson, who rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Their wins bumped Valley to 5-2 and Elmore County to 6-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Valley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Elmore County struggles in that department as they've been even better at 219.7 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Valley came up short against Elmore County when the teams last played back in October of 2022, falling 17-13. Can Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
