Football Preview: Dakota Ridge Eagles vs. Golden Demons
The Dakota Ridge Eagles will face off against the Golden Demons at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Dakota Ridge will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Dakota Ridge is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 47-7 victory over Highlands Ranch on the road. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Dakota Ridge to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kellen Behrendsen, who threw for 184 yards and a touchdown while completing 88.9% of his passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Landon Kalsbeck helped Behrendsen out on the ground, rushing for 61 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, while also picking up 46 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Dakota Ridge was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 200 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
One reason for the win was Dakota Ridge's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Brady Palladino was especially locked on to Highlands Ranch's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, a win for Golden just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were outmatched by Ponderosa at home and fell 42-14. The Demons were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-0.
Dakota Ridge's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Golden, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.
Dakota Ridge won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, slipping by Golden 29-28. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Golden's Luc Chevalier, who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Dakota Ridge to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
