Preview: Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks vs. St. Francis Indians
Wheatland-Grinnell has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against The St. Francis Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wheatland-Grinnell comes in on a streak of failing to score more than eight points in their last seven games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse.
Wheatland-Grinnell fell victim to South Central's stalwart defense on Thursday and couldn't make it onto the board. They took a serious blow against the Timberwolves, falling 54-0.
Meanwhile, St. Francis pushed their score all the way to 42 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They suffered a tough 66-42 loss at the hands of Thunder Ridge.
Despite the defeat, St. Francis had strong showings from Lucas Raile, who gained 285 total yards and two touchdowns, and Layn Todd, who gained 202 total yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Klinzmann also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Wheatland-Grinnell's defeat was their sixth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 0-7. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 6-1 Hoxie and 5-2 Thunder Ridge (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 62.6% over those games). As for St. Francis, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Wheatland-Grinnell might still be hurting after the 28-6 loss they got from St. Francis in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Thankfully for Wheatland-Grinnell, Preston Witzel (who rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 43 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
