The Whiteland Warriors will head out on the road to face off against the Decatur Central Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Whiteland sitting on five straight victories and Decatur Central on seven.
Whiteland extended their postseason success on Friday against Terre Haute South Vigo. They put the hurt on the Braves with a sharp 34-10 victory. Whiteland might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won four matches by 24 points or more this season.
Slate Valentine was a one-man wrecking crew for Whiteland as he rushed for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Decatur Central faced Harrison in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Decatur Central strolled past Harrison with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 34-17.
Decatur Central's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was KC Berry, who rushed for 141 yards on only 14 carries, and also picked up 37 receiving yards. Bo Polston also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Whiteland pushed their record up to 8-4 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. It's not like the team was facing easy opposition over that stretch either, as it included 9-2 Decatur Central and 7-4 Martinsville (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 62.7% over those games). As for Decatur Central, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Whiteland has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 279.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Decatur Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 233.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
Whiteland strolled past Decatur Central when the teams last played back in September by a score of 31-15. The rematch might be a little tougher for Whiteland since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
