The Wellington Crusaders will face off against the El Dorado Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Wellington has five straight wins, El Dorado has 16 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, everything came up roses for Wellington on the road against Rose Hill as the squad secured a 54-13 victory. Considering the Crusaders have won four matchups by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Wellington's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dusty Bannister, who threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.8 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 43 yards. Another rusher making a difference was Jalik Armstrong, who gained 158 total yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Wellington was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Wellington's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB 8.5 times. Brody Weir was especially locked on to Rose Hill's QB and sacked him four times. What's more, Weir also racked up 26 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in November of 2023. Another thorn in Rose Hill's side was Colton Bannister, who picked up 0.5 sacks and made 13 total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, a victory for El Dorado just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were outmatched by Abilene at home and fell 38-7.
Despite the defeat, El Dorado saw an underclassman step up: Beau Hall rushed for 158 yards while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. Those 158 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Hall.
Wellington's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-2. As for El Dorado, their loss dropped their record down to 0-7.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Wellington has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 154.4 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for El Dorado, though, as they've been averaging only 56. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Wellington against El Dorado when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 53-14 victory. Does Wellington have another victory up their sleeve, or will El Dorado turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
