Football Preview: Northwest Christian Crusaders vs. Peoria Panthers
The Northwest Christian Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the Peoria Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Friday, Northwest Christian and Prescott were almost perfectly matched up, but Northwest Christian suffered a 42-41 defeat. The loss was the Crusaders' first of the season.
Despite their loss, Northwest Christian saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Nathan Johannes, who rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.7 yards per carry, and also picked up 49 receiving yards, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance gave Johannes a new career-high in rushing yards. Another rusher making a difference was Dre Bair, who rushed for 29 yards and four touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Peoria was just a hair shy of victory on Friday and fell 7-6 to ALA - West Foothills. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Peoria's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Cristian Carrillo, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and Javon Bell, who rushed for 120 yards while picking up 7.1 yards per carry.
Peoria's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Rigoberto Camacho, Angel Vasquez, and Diego Zamora picked up one apiece.
Having lost for the first time this season, Northwest Christian fell to 2-1. As for Peoria, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Northwest Christian has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Peoria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 207. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Northwest Christian against Peoria when the teams last played back in October of 2022 as the team secured a 41-6 win. In that game, Northwest Christian amassed a halftime lead of 31-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
