The Ironwood Eagles will square off against the Kellis Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Kellis took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Ironwood, who comes in off a win.
Kellis is hoping to do what South Mountain couldn't on Friday: put an end to Ironwood's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Ironwood came out on top against South Mountain by a score of 19-6.
Khavontae Paul went supernova for Ironwood, rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.8 yards per carry. Paul's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 128 rushing yards dating back to last season. Nicholas Morrow handled things on the ground, rushing for 115 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Ironwood was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 225 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Ironwood's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Emeil Bryant and Xadiel (Abel) Silva. Aaron Mendoza was another major factor on D, picking up three sacks and making four total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Kellis lost 44-21 to Horizon on Friday. The loss was the Cougars' first of the season.
Kellis wouldn't let Horizon keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Kellis can thank Tristan Bacon and Rocky Warner for forcing both of them.
Ironwood's record now sits at 3-0. As for Kellis, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.
Thursday's match might be decided in the trenches. Ironwood has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 264.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Kellis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 200.3. It's looking like Thursday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Ironwood ended up a good deal behind Kellis in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, losing 35-17. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kellis' Ronald Coty Iii, who rushed for 263 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 15.5 yards per carry. Now that Ironwood 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
