The Lawrence-Nelson Raiders will challenge the Howells-Dodge Jaguars on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lawrence-Nelson is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Elmwood-Murdock, posting a 78-42 victory. The Raiders pushed the score to 78-36 by the end of the third, a deficit the Knights cut but never quite recovered from.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Wyatt Frey and Dashiell Coleman. Frey had a great game and rushed for 272 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 13.0 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Coleman was balling out in the loss, rushing for 163 yards and a pair of TDs while picking up 8.2 yards per carry, and also throwing for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Howells-Dodge put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 44-8 win over Overton.
Lawrence-Nelson better keep an eye on Hunter Luther. He was instrumental in Howells-Dodge's win, rushing for 285 yards and three scores while picking up 11.4 yards per carry. Luther didn't just play on offense: he also picked up three sacks and made six total tackles (4.0 for loss). Another player making a difference was Oliver Belina, who rushed for 82 yards and one TD on only six carries.
Howells-Dodge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 414 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in 13 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
One reason for the win was Howells-Dodge's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Luther and Jax Nelson, who racked up all five sacks between them. Luther is also crushing it when it comes to rushing touchdowns: he's punched in at least two every time he's taken the field this season.
Lawrence-Nelson's record is now 9-1. As for Howells-Dodge, their record now sits at 10-0.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Lawrence-Nelson has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 267.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Howells-Dodge struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 282.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Lawrence-Nelson came up short against Howells-Dodge in their previous matchup back in August, falling 28-24. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
