Wichita County is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Ellis is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Wichita County Indians will face off against the Ellis Railroaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Wichita County's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Quinter 62-0 on the road. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 100th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Wichita County got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Khris Hermosillo out in front who rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 42 receiving yards and a touchdown. That's the most rushing yards Hermosillo has posted since back in November of 2023. Pablo Reyes was another key back, rushing for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Wichita County didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Dylan Luna and Max Whitham.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ellis). They really took it to Ness City for the full four quarters, racking up a 66-20 win at home. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
It was another big night for Trenton Schartz, who rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries, and also threw for 98 yards and two touchdowns. His longest rush was for an impressive 51 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Austin Lopeman, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Wichita County's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Ellis, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Wichita County has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 259 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ellis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 154.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Wichita County took a serious blow against Ellis in their previous meeting back in October of 2015, falling 64-6. Thankfully for Wichita County, Easton Smith (who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 91 yards and three touchdowns) 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
