The Columbus Explorers will head out to take on the Venice Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Columbus comes in on four and Venice on six.
Columbus is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 27-25 victory over Western.
Meanwhile, Venice took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 55-26 win over West Orange. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by 23 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Gata Wilder, who rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last four times he's played. Winston Watkins Jr. also helped out with an impressive 96 receiving yards.
Venice wouldn't let West Orange keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Venice can thank Asharri Charles and Cole Wetherington for forcing both of them. Venice got some further help from Landon Marsters: he picked up two sacks, made 14 total tackles, and defended a pass.
Venice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 281 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 210 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Columbus' victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.5 points per game. As for Venice, their win bumped their record up to 12-1.
Columbus was dealt a bruising 35-7 defeat at the hands of Venice in their previous meeting back in December of 2021. Can Columbus avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
