The Dallastown Wildcats will take on the Red Lion Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Dallastown is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Spring Grove on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Wildcats had to suffer through a 35-7 loss at the hands of the Rockets. The Wildcats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 21-0.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Red Lion). They blew past Northeastern 51-14 on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now won seven in a row.
Dallastown better keep an eye on Mason Platts. He was instrumental in Red Lion's win, throwing for 419 yards and six TDs while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt. Those 419 passing yards gave Platts a new career-high. Octavius Thompson helped Platts out on the ground, picking up 173 receiving yards and three scores.
One reason for the win was Red Lion's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Leading the way was Xavier Drake with two. He also made five total tackles, which is notable because Red Lion is 2-1 when he posts at least three total tackles, but 1-5 otherwise.
Dallastown now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Red Lion, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 3-6.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Dallastown has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 172 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Red Lion, though, as they've been averaging only 77.6 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Dallastown took their win against Red Lion in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 42-20 score. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
