The West Orange Warriors will head out on the road to take on the Venice Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 902 yards in their previous games.
West Orange is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They pulled ahead with a 26-25 photo finish over Plant City. That's two games straight that the Warriors have won by just one point.
West Orange found their leader in sophomore Brian Dillard, who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.5 yards per attempt. West Orange also got help from Edison Delgado, who showed off his sure hands for 112 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Venice won against Haines City last Friday with 56 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Venice really took it to Newsome for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-17 victory. The result was nothing new for the Indians, who have now won six matches by 23 points or more so far this season.
Venice's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Gata Wilder, who rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Wilder has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Winston Watkins Jr., who picked up 98 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Venice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 210 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 210 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Venice's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for West Orange, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-2.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. West Orange has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Venice struggles in that department as they've been averaging 283.2. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
West Orange took a serious blow against Venice in their previous matchup back in November of 2021, falling 49-7. Thankfully for West Orange, Damarion Escort (who rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
