The Brainerd Warriors will face off against the Elk River Elks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Brainerd is headed out to face Elk River after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. Brainerd blew past Mahtomedi, posting a 42-7 victory at home. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota football rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Zephyrs are ranked 85th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Elk River had to kick off their season on the road on Thursday, but they showed no ill effects. They put the hurt on Chanhassen with a sharp 44-22 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Elks just coasted through the last quarter.
Brecken Keoraj had an outrageously good game as he rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 85 yards. Levi Harris was another key player, rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Harris wasn't the only one working in the rushing yards department: Elk River was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 440 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 266 rushing yards in 12 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Brainerd didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Elk River when the teams last played back in September of 2023, but they still walked away with a 39-35 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Elk River's Gavin Schmidt, who rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown while picking up 9.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 82 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Brainerd still be able to contain Schmidt? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
