Two dominant backs in Marco Castro and Caiden Verrett are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Kankakee Valley Kougars will venture away from home to face off against the Hanover Central Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Kankakee Valley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Highland 52-14. The win was familiar territory for the Kougars who have now won three matchups in a row.
Kankakee Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Castro, who rushed for 47 yards and three touchdowns. Castro is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in three or more in the last three games he's played. Nolen Kooistra was another major influence, as he rushed for 23 yards and ran in a TD.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hanover Central). They claimed a resounding 71-30 victory over East Chicago Central. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Cardinals are ranked 305th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hanover Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Verrett, who rushed for 59 yards and three touchdowns. Donovan Mason was in the mix as well, providing Hanover Central with two touchdowns.
The win got Kankakee Valley back to even at 5-5. As for Hanover Central, their victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Kankakee Valley has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 210.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hanover Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 179.9. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Kankakee Valley ended up a good deal behind Hanover Central when the teams last played back in September, losing 34-20. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Verrett, who rushed for 169 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also picked up 41 receiving yards. Now that Kankakee Valley 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
