Two dominant signal callers in Ethan Kraintz and McCoy McArtor are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Elko Indians will be playing in front of their home fans against the Spring Creek Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Elko is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Churchill County, who was ranked fifth at the time (Elko was ranked seventh). The Indians came out on top in a nail-biter against the Greenwave on Friday, sneaking past 31-28. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last seven times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Elko, racking up 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Coy Jones, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Spring Creek). They blew past South Tahoe 55-22 on Friday. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Elko better keep an eye on Snowdon Bear Williams. He was instrumental in Spring Creek's win, picking up 86 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. What's more, Bear Williams posted two receiving touchdowns, the most he's had since back in August. Aiden Walthers was in the mix too, providing Spring Creek with one TD.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Spring Creek proved: they limited South Tahoe to a paltry 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Joseph Bright for the heroic effort on defense: he. Spring Creek's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 5.07 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 8.17 on average over their last five games.
Elko's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Spring Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.
Everything went Elko's way against Spring Creek when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as Elko made off with a 26-0 win. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
