Football Preview: North Pole Patriots vs. West Valley Wolf Pack
The North Pole Patriots will square off against the West Valley Wolf Pack at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Pole has three straight victories, West Valley has eight straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
North Pole is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Wasilla, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (North Pole was ranked first). North Pole enjoyed a cozy 27-12 win over Wasilla on Saturday.
North Pole's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jade Skipps led the charge by rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries, while also throwing for 68 yards and a touchdown. Skipps didn't just play on offense: he also picked up two sacks and made three total tackles in addition to snagging an interception which she returned for a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Taimane Skipps, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Another reason for the win was North Pole's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for nine sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jaelynn Colby and Skipps, who racked up eight sacks between them. The dominant performance also gave Colby a new career-high in rushing yards.
North Pole was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 395 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 172 rushing yards in nine consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, West Valley came up short against Lathrop on Wednesday and fell 14-6.
North Pole's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1. As for West Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-7.
Everything came up roses for North Pole against West Valley when the teams last played back in September, as the squad secured a 34-0 win. Will North Pole repeat their success, or does West Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
