Football Preview: Columbia Eagles vs. Breese Central Cougars
The Columbia Eagles will face off against the Breese Central Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Columbia sitting on three straight victories and Breese Central on seven.
Last Friday, Columbia took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 38-8 win over Salem. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Wildcats are ranked 318th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Jase Nelson, who rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry. Those 173 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Columbia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 387 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Columbia 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 Mason Voegele.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Breese Central at home against Roxana on Friday as the team secured a 35-6 victory. Considering the Cougars have won six games by more than 26 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Columbia is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. As for Breese Central, they pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
Columbia might still be hurting after the 33-13 defeat they got from Breese Central in their previous matchup back in October of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Breese Central's Kaden Rakers, who rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 62 receiving yards. Now that Columbia knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
