After flying high against Emerson last Friday, Lovejoy came back down to earth. The Lovejoy Leopards took a 41-37 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Walnut Grove Wildcats. The Leopards' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Several Leopards players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jacob Richard Janecek, who threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 103 yards on only 14 carries. Richard Janecek has become a key player for Lovejoy: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 1-2 otherwise. Ben Adams also helped out as he racked up 127 rushing yards.
Even though they lost, Lovejoy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 248 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 167 rushing yards in six consecutive contests.
It was another big night for Cameron Newton, who rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.2 yards per carry for Walnut Grove. Newton was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 51 yards. Hayes Hackney also helped out by tossing the rock for 359 yards.
Lovejoy's defeat dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Walnut Grove, they pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
Lovejoy will welcome Denison at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lovejoy knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Denison likes a good challenge. As for Walnut Grove, a feisty cat fight will be fought when Wildcats faces off against Melissa at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Walnut Grove is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.8 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
