Van Buren is 0-6 against Greenwood since September of 2014 but things could change on Thursday. The Van Buren Pointers will look to defend their home field against the Greenwood Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Van Buren strolled past Southside with points to spare, taking the game 42-28. The Pointers pushed the score to 35-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Mavericks cut but never quite recovered from.
It was another big night for Cameron Keller, who rushed for 151 yards and five touchdowns. Elijah Johnson was another key player, throwing for 214 yards and a touchdown while completing 75% of his passes.
Another reason for the win was Van Buren's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Darren Mays was especially locked on to Southside's QB and sacked him twice. Mays is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Greenwood put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lake Hamilton 49-14 at home. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won six contests by 35 points or more so far this season.
Kane Archer continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 249 yards and four touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes, and also rushing for 89 yards on only seven carries. Another player making a difference was Wesley Raggio, who rushed for 51 yards and three touchdowns.
Greenwood wouldn't let Lake Hamilton keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Greenwood can thank Zack Zitzmann and Cash Archer for forcing both of them. Another thorn in Lake Hamilton's side was Zachary Edwards, who made ten total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Van Buren's victory bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Greenwood, they pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Van Buren has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 365.7 total yards per game. However, it's not like Greenwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging 490.7. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Van Buren was dealt a bruising 61-17 loss at the hands of Greenwood when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Greenwood's Grant Karnes, who picked up 213 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now that Van Buren knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
