Football Preview: West Lafayette Red Devils vs. Northwestern Tigers
The West Lafayette Red Devils will face off against the Northwestern Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West Lafayette is looking to tack on another W to their nine-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
West Lafayette is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 49-7 victory over Frankton. That looming 49-7 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Red Devils yet this season.
West Lafayette's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Benny Speaker led the charge by throwing for 132 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes, while also rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown. West Lafayette also got help from Kojo Steffey, who showed off his sure hands for 105 receiving yards.
West Lafayette was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 226 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 154 rushing yards in nine consecutive matchups.
West Lafayette didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Samuel Steffey and Micah Davis. West Lafayette got some further help from David Curl III: he picked up three sacks and made 16 total tackles (6.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Northwestern waltzed into their match on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They claimed a resounding 49-12 win over the Bison. 49 seems to be a good number for the Tigers as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Brock Shank continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 241 yards and five touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last four games he's played. Hayden Cook was another key player, picking up 83 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Northwestern wouldn't let Benton Central keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Chase Dewitt was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
West Lafayette is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Northwestern, their record now sits at 9-1.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. West Lafayette has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.3 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Northwestern, though, as they've been averaging only 96.6. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for West Lafayette against Northwestern in their previous matchup back in October of 2016, as the squad secured a 51-22 win. Does West Lafayette have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northwestern turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
