The Wheeler Wildcats lost against the Walton Raiders back in November of 2022, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. Wheeler ended up on the wrong side of a tough 42-16 walloping at the hands of Walton. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Wheeler in their matchups with Walton: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the loss, Wheeler still got an impressive performance from Marcus Romain, who rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries, and also threw for 116 yards and a touchdown. Romain was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 52 yards.
Jeremy Hecklinski had an outrageously good game for Walton as he threw for 266 yards and four touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The team also got some help courtesy of Makari Bodiford, who gained 100 total yards and two touchdowns.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Wheeler to a paltry 236 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Walton's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid the passer out three times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Lota Ugokwe and his two sacks.
Wheeler's loss dropped their record down to 7-3. As for Walton, the win for they keeps them at an undefeated 10-0.
Wheeler will head out on the road to face off against Buford at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Buford is on a five-game streak of home wins, Wheeler a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. Walton will take on Mountain View at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Mountain View will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Georgia Rankings (they are ranked 91st, while Walton is ranked first).
