On Friday Ola will have to hit the road after three straight games at home. They will square off against the Woodland Wolfpack at 7:30 p.m. Ola's defense has only allowed 7.3 points per game this season, so Woodland's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Ola is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 48 points back in September, they were much more limited against Stockbridge on Friday. They fell to the Tigers 14-10. The Mustangs' defeat signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Despite the loss, Ola got top-tier performance from Nigel Newkirk, who rushed for 198 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.0 yards per carry, and also picked up 34 receiving yards. Newkirk really tore up the turf during one magnificent 80-yard run.
Meanwhile, Woodland scored the most points they've had all season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 41-40 to Locust Grove. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (31), the Wolfpack still had to take the loss.
Woodland's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Mark Howard, who rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.9 yards per carry, and Brayden Rogers, who rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Rogers' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 100 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Even though they lost, Woodland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 420 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Having lost for the first time this season, Ola fell to 5-1. As for Woodland, their loss was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-6.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Ola has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 230.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Woodland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 257.5. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Ola beat Woodland 29-16 when the teams last played back in September of 2021. Will Ola repeat their success, or does Woodland have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
