Football Preview: Mullen Broncos vs. Sandhills/Thedford Knights
The Mullen Broncos will venture away from home to square off against the Sandhills/Thedford Knights at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Mullen sitting on five straight victories and Sandhills/Thedford on 15 (dating back to last season).
Last Friday, it was close, but Mullen sidestepped Maxwell for a 45-42 win.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Tate Kvanvig and Kole Jones. Kvanvig had a great game and rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Meanwhile, Jones was balling out in the loss, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 68 receiving yards.
Mullen wouldn't let Maxwell keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force five fumbles. Jason Kraus led the group effort, picking up two of those forced fumbles all by himself. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 6.7 total tackles per game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mullen was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 271 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 159 rushing yards in eight consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Sandhills/Thedford got themselves on the board against Brady on Friday, but Brady never followed suit. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Eagles 58-0 on the road. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by 42 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Kyle Cox, who rushed for 153 yards and four touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 51 yards and two touchdowns. What's more, he's the contest marked his 19th straight with at least 119 dating back to last season. Carter Anderson was another key player, rushing for 84 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Sandhills/Thedford didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Cox.
Mullen pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Sandhills/Thedford, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Mullen has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 258 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sandhills/Thedford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 276.2. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Mullen took a serious blow against Sandhills/Thedford in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, falling 50-0. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Cox, who rushed for 286 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 13.0 yards per carry, and also threw for 78 yards and a touchdown on only six passes. Now that Mullen knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
