Two dominant signal callers in Ty Reed and Logan Gross are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Delta Panthers will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the Rifle Bears at 5:00 p.m. on November 25th. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Delta had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 28-10 win over the Bulldogs. Delta pushed the score to 28-3 by the end of the third, a deficit Moffat County cut but never quite recovered from.
Delta can attribute much of their success to Talan Hulet, who rushed for 220 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Hulet hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games.
Another reason for the win was Delta's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. In that department, Xavier Martinez was the leader with two sacks.
Meanwhile, Rifle entered their tilt with Eaton with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. Rifle came out on top against Eaton by a score of 24-15 on Saturday.
It was another big night for Gross, who rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 195 yards and a touchdown. Gross is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last three games he's played. Isaac Valencia and his 111 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Rifle's win.
Their wins bumped Delta to 12-0 and Moffat County to 9-3.
We should be in store for an exciting game Saturday as both teams have no problem gaining yardage. Delta has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 373.3 total yards per game. However, it's not like Rifle struggles in that department as they've been even better at 385.2 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything went Delta's way against Rifle in their previous matchup back in September as Delta made off with a 28-7 win. Will Delta repeat their success, or does Rifle have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
