Football Preview: North Paulding Wolfpack vs. Walton Raiders
North Paulding hasn't had much luck against Walton recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The North Paulding Wolfpack will venture away from home to take on the Walton Raiders at 7:30 p.m. North Paulding is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.1 points per game this season.
Last Friday, North Paulding was able to grind out a solid victory over Wheeler, taking the game 22-14. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wolfpack.
It was another big night for James Skelly, who rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Walton had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They blew past the Eagles, posting a 42-7 win at home. The result was nothing new for the Raiders, who have now won three matches by 22 points or more so far this season.
Walton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kaeden Gilstrap, who threw for 195 yards and four touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes. Lucas Farrington was in the mix too, providing Walton with two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Walton's defense and their three sacks. In that department, William Ruddell was the leader with two.
North Paulding's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Walton, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Skelly and Farrington. Skelly has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 109.2 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Farrington has averaged 72.9 rushing yards per game this season.
North Paulding might still be hurting after the 44-24 loss they got from Walton in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Thankfully for North Paulding, Jeremy Hecklinski (who threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
