A feisty cat fight will be fought when Panthers challenges the Lyons-Decatur Northeast Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast is hoping to do what Winside couldn't on Friday: put an end to Bancroft-Rosalie's winning streak, which now stands at six games. Bancroft-Rosalie simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Winside 70-22 at home. That looming 70-22 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Panthers yet this season.
Bancroft-Rosalie's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Graysen Briggs led the charge by rushing for 189 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.8 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave Briggs a new career-high in rushing yards. Nick Buchholz was another key signal caller, throwing for 107 yards and four touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Bancroft-Rosalie was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 257 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Winside only rushed for 156.
Bancroft-Rosalie didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Braylon Wegner.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lyons-Decatur Northeast). They blew past Randolph 63-6 at home on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their eight-point performance the game before.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast had a senior duo take command as Gavin Hardeman rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns on only ten carries and Landen Cooper rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Masen Olsen, who rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast wouldn't let Randolph keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Lyons-Decatur Northeast can thank Kaden Knaak and Weston Hardeman for forcing both of them.
Bancroft-Rosalie's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-0. As for Lyons-Decatur Northeast, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Bancroft-Rosalie has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 218.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lyons-Decatur Northeast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 328.5. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Bancroft-Rosalie's way against Lyons-Decatur Northeast when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as Bancroft-Rosalie made off with a 50-26 win. Does Bancroft-Rosalie have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lyons-Decatur Northeast turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
