The Stanton Mustangs will square off against the Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated (Stanton has 16 wins dating back to last season, while Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] has three).
Stanton is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Central Valley, who was ranked 12th in their home state at the time (Stanton was ranked second). Stanton came out on top against Central Valley by a score of 40-28 on Friday.
Barrett Wilke had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 284 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Stanton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 306 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 205 rushing yards in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] got themselves on the board against Madison on Friday, but Madison never followed suit. They blew past the Dragons, posting a 52-0 win at home. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked ninth, while the Dragons are ranked 126th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard]'s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Michael Koenig, who threw for 197 yards and five touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes. Koenig is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Cheatum, who picked up 121 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Stanton pushed their record up to 3-0 with that win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], their victory bumped their record up to an identical 3-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Stanton has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 331.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] struggles in that department as they've been averaging 162.3. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Stanton against Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] in their previous meeting back in October of 2023 as the team secured a 60-30 win. Will Stanton repeat their success, or does Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
