Two dominant signal callers in Fletcher Cole and Brennan Messel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Paoli Rams will take on the North Knox Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Paoli has eight straight victories, North Knox has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Paoli is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Mitchell 64-0 at home. Considering the Rams have won six contests by more than 24 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
It was another big night for Cole, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Another player making a difference was Dane Padgett, who rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Paoli was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 510 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Paoli didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Isaiah Apple and William Baker. The dominant performance also gave Apple a new career-high in rushing yards.
Meanwhile, North Knox was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 12-6 to North Daviess.
North Knox's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Camden Mccory, who rushed for 127 yards on only 14 carries, and Messel, who rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Paoli pushed their record up to 8-0 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. As for North Knox, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Paoli has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 428.5 total yards per game. It's a different story for North Knox, though, as they've been averaging only 232.1. Will Paoli be able to march up the field at their leisure again, or will North Knox flip the script?
Paoli was able to grind out a solid victory over North Knox in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, winning 37-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Paoli since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
