Two dominant backs in Preston Michel and Carter Pitts are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats will head out to challenge the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Wilbur-Creston-Keller sitting on seven straight wins and Almira-Coulee-Hartline on four.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Odessa, who was ranked eighth in their home state at the time (Wilbur-Creston-Keller was ranked second). Wilbur-Creston-Keller blew past Odessa 78-54 on Friday. The Wildcats pushed the score to 70-40 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers cut but never quite recovered from.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller can attribute much of their success to Kallen Maioho, who rushed for 261 yards and five touchdowns on only 14 carries, and Michel, who rushed for 286 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 8.2 yards per carry. Michel is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Wilbur-Creston-Keller was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 625 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller's defensive line made their presence known, laying out the QB six times. The heavy lifting was done by Cole Snider and Michel, who racked up all six sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Almira-Coulee-Hartline was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Wellpinit 48-14 on the road. The Warriors' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
It was another big night for Pitts, who rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making five total tackles (2.0 for loss). Brady Roberts was another key player, rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. As for Almira-Coulee-Hartline, their record now sits at 6-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Wilbur-Creston-Keller has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 407 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Almira-Coulee-Hartline struggles in that department as they've been averaging 297.4. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller took their win against Almira-Coulee-Hartline in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a conclusive 50-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Wilbur-Creston-Keller since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
