Two dominant backs in Josiah Allen and James Skelly are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Wheeler Wildcats will head out on the road to challenge the North Paulding Wolfpack at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Friday, Wheeler didn't have quite enough to beat Etowah and fell 16-13. The Wildcats have struggled against the Eagles recently, as their game on Friday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Wheeler's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Greg Kendrick, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, and Allen, who rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 80 yards.
Wheeler didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Elijah Muhammad and Da'Kari Moore. Moore also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 11. Another thorn in Etowah's side was Kobe L Mcinnis, who picked up a sack and made 13 total tackles.
Even though they lost, Wheeler was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 177 rushing yards in seven consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, North Paulding didn't have too much trouble with Etowah on the road last Friday as they won 34-17. With that victory, the Wolfpack brought their scoring average up to 26.7 points per game.
Skelly continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. He is becoming a predictor of North Paulding's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 3-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Tyler Niehr, who rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown.
North Paulding's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. In that department, Rowan Sheffield was the leader with two sacks.
Wheeler's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for North Paulding, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Wheeler has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 233.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like North Paulding struggles in that department as they've been averaging 222. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
