The Venice Indians will square off against the Columbus Explorers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Venice comes in on six and Columbus on four.
Venice is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They breezed by West Orange to the tune of 55-26. The result was nothing new for the Indians, who have now won seven contests by 23 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Gata Wilder, who rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 54 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. The team also got some help courtesy of Winston Watkins Jr., who picked up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Venice wouldn't let West Orange keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Venice can thank Asharri Charles and Cole Wetherington for forcing both of them. Landon Marsters was another major factor on D, picking up two sacks, making 14 total tackles, and defending a pass.
Venice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 210 rushing yards in six consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Columbus narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Western 27-25.
Venice pushed their record up to 12-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 48.2 points. As for Columbus, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Venice against Columbus in their previous meeting back in December of 2021, as the team secured a 35-7 win. Will Venice repeat their success, or does Columbus have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
