Two dominant backs in Jack Strange and Preston Michel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Naselle Comets will square off against the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are still undefeated (Naselle has 11 wins , while Wilbur-Creston-Keller has 12 dating back to last season).
Naselle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Pomeroy by a score of 60-50. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Comets, who until this contest were averaging 10.36 points allowed.
Strange continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.5 yards per carry, and also picking up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Caiden Burke was another key rusher, gaining 83 total yards and two touchdowns.
Naselle was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 389 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 255 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Wilbur-Creston-Keller faced Garfield-Palouse in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Wilbur-Creston-Keller breezed by Garfield-Palouse to the tune of 56-12. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won 11 games by 24 points or more so far this season.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller had a senior duo take command as Michel rushed for 263 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry and Kallen Maioho gained 228 total yards and two touchdowns. Maioho was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 64 yards.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Maioho. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 109 rushing yards.
Naselle's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 39.2 points. As for Wilbur-Creston-Keller, their win bumped their record up to 12-0.
Saturday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Naselle has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 286.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Wilbur-Creston-Keller struggles in that department as they've been averaging 403. It's looking like Saturday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Naselle was dealt a bruising 98-44 defeat at the hands of Wilbur-Creston-Keller in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Naselle, Kalub Dreger (who rushed for 401 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 22.3 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
