The Coolidge Bears will face off against the Florence Gophers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Coolidge has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Florence will arrive with five straight victories.
Coolidge's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Combs two weeks ago. They took a blow against the Coyotes, falling 57-0. That makes it the first time this season the Bears have let down their home crowd.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Florence). They blew past Rio Rico 43-0 at home on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Gophers, who have now won three matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Logan Stenson, who rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 138 yards and a touchdown on only 13 passes. His longest rush was for an impressive 68 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Malik Smith was another key player, rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 347 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Florence's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged six passes before it was all said and done. Kj Watts led the group effort, picking up three of those interceptions all by himself.
Coolidge's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Florence, their win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
Coolidge ended up a good deal behind Florence in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, losing 30-12. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Coolidge knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
