Football Preview: Elida Bulldogs vs. Defiance Bulldogs
Elida has gone 8-2 against Defiance recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Elida Bulldogs will venture away from home to take on the Defiance Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Elida is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Having struggled with five defeats in a row, Elida finally turned things around against Celina on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Bulldogs 17-14. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Elida has posted against Celina since September 8, 2017.
Meanwhile, Defiance waltzed into their matchup on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 34-27. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Wildcats are ranked 272nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Defiance's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Anthony Wilder led the charge by rushing for 139 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. Another player making a difference was Noah Gomez, who rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Defiance's defense and their five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Abel Paxton and Mathew Walter, who racked up four sacks between them. Paxton also set a new season high mark in total tackles with six.
Elida's record is now 2-5. As for Defiance, their record is now 4-2.
Elida barely slipped by Defiance in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, winning 19-18. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Wilder, who rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, and also picked up 45 receiving yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Elida still be able to contain Wilder? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
