Football Preview: Nitro Wildcats vs. Wayne Pioneers
The Nitro Wildcats will challenge the Wayne Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Nitro's defense has only allowed 15.2 points per game this season, so Wayne's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Nitro will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Chapmanville Regional, who they hadn't topped in eight consecutive meetings. Nitro walked away with a 34-21 victory over Chapmanville Regional on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Wildcats considering their seven-point performance the game before.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Nitro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Josh Moody, who threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 31 yards. Malachi Thompson was Moody's top target, picking up 92 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Nitro'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 Zaevyon Dickerson, Malik Brown, and Brown picked up one apiece. Dickerson also set a new season high mark in total tackles with eight. Nitro got some further help from Wyatt Sowards: he made 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Wayne won against Scott on September 6th with 26 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Wayne came out on top against Winfield by a score of 26-14. The win was just business as usual for the Pioneers, who after three games remain undefeated this season.
Jayden Wayman had a dynamite game for Wayne, rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. Wayman is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 106 every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ronnie Staley, who rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Wayne was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in 11 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Nitro's victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Wayne, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Nitro has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 272.5 passing yards per game. Wayne, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 253.7 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Nitro beat Wayne 33-21 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Does Nitro have another victory up their sleeve, or will Wayne turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
